


Where Did We Go

by themoongirl



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blurryface, Brendon Urie Is a Good Bro, Child Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mark is a computer genius, Or any of the good guys, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Protective Josh Dun, Supernatural Elements, There's kind of a suicide?, Torture, but it's not with Tyler or Josh, i swear there will be some happy parts lol, i'm going to add more tags as i go, you have to read it to understand lol i don't want to spoil it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:58:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 43,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7514416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themoongirl/pseuds/themoongirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At 1218 days, a dead body is found in the river, and Josh hates himself for feeling joy at realizing that it’s not Tyler.</p><p>At 1295 days, two more bodies are found, both teenagers. Both Tyler’s age, but neither Tyler.</p><p>At 1307 days, a fourth body is found, and Josh doesn’t sleep that night. The identified body was not Tyler, but Josh wonders if one day it will be.</p><p>It’s October 5th when Tyler is found. Alive. 1314 days, 187 weeks, 3 years. That’s how long Tyler Joseph was in captivity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. taken by sleep

Josh Dun isn’t the greatest at remembering things, no. The people closest to him could attest to that. His childhood is a blur of skateboard parks and Pokemon cards, Tyler Joseph and drum kits. Sitting in the park drinking stolen coolers from his parent’s liquor cabinet with Tyler, laughing about things that aren’t even funny and the subtlest of hand touches clouded his memory. While most kids would invite the entire school to hang out at their house when their parents were away, Josh would invite Tyler, and the two would find themselves in more than one steamy makeout session, only stopping whenever even the quietest of sounds could be heard, because they both knew what would happen if Tyler’s mom ever got a suspicion that the two were more than friends. 

The memories with Tyler are the most prominent. Which is why it shouldn’t come as a shock that the day Tyler was taken is the day that screams at him from all angles in his memory. Colours of blue, red and white shining down the street out front of Tyler’s house. Wet cheeks and the sharpest, most panic-gripping of fears. Shaking hands. The urge to vomit. The overwhelming feeling that he had lost him, he was gone, and he didn’t know if he would get him back.

But after that, oh, the days that followed, those were the blurriest. Days blurred into weeks, weeks blurred into months, and months blurred into a year. A year is what it took Josh to get on his feet again, and even that felt like too short of a time.

So he worked. A small job at his local record store that he threw himself into. Music was the thing that he shared with Tyler, it was the thing that they called theirs. He felt close to Tyler when he worked there, and it was also only a few blocks from the street him and Tyler grew up on. This way he could stay close in case Tyler ever returned or the police got any big leads. Tyler was 18 and attending a local college for a fine arts program when he was taken, while Josh preferred to spend his time working and trying to make his drumming career work out. 

21\. That’s the age he would be now. Tyler Joseph has been missing for three years. 

At 1218 days, a dead body is found in the river, and Josh hates himself for feeling joy at realizing that it’s not Tyler.

At 1295 days, two more bodies are found, both teenagers. Both Tyler’s age, but neither Tyler.

At 1307 days, a fourth body is found, and Josh doesn’t sleep that night. The identified body was not Tyler, but Josh wonders if one day it will be.

It’s October 5th when Tyler is found. 1314 days, 187 weeks, 3 years. That’s how long Tyler Joseph was in captivity. 

Josh gets the call at 5:30am, that Tyler is alive, that he has been found.

And Josh is falling.

-

“I just want to see him, please-”

“Josh, hun, I know this is hard but they’re being very strict with visitors right now, especially considering the circumstance-”

“I know, but if I could just, like, see him, just look, that’s all I want-”

“You’re going to Josh, just not right this second.”

Josh was currently pacing around his apartment, his phone in his shaking hand as he argued with Tyler’s Aunt Eli. 

She must have heard Josh’s long drawn-out sigh because she spoke again. “Josh, darling, I promise that you will be the first person that I call once they allow visitors. For now, just rest with the thought that he’s here, he’s alive, and he’s not going anywhere, okay?”

Josh ran a hand through his pink hair. “Okay,”

“I’ll call soon, alright?”

“Okay.” He hung up.

Josh’s roommate Brendon was sat on the couch watching Josh anxiously. He hadn’t known Tyler very well, but he had dealt with countless nights of Josh having nightmares or full-out crying sessions over Tyler’s disappearance. He knew how big this was. 

“So they’re not letting you see him yet?” Brendon asked.

“Nope,” Anger was dripping from Josh’s voice as he continued to pace. He’s not usually one to get angry, but right now, he was livid.

“That’s bullshit,” Brendon answered, but after a second, he sighed. “But it makes sense.”

“It makes sense?! It doesn’t make any sense!” He yelled, stopping his pacing. “That’s my best friend, that’s my- that’s my-”

“...boyfriend?” Brendon asked. Brendon knew of their relationship, but he also knew of Josh’s struggles to call Tyler that after he disappeared. 

“Y-yes,” Josh plopped down onto the couch beside Brendon and let his head fall into his hands. He felt like he had been through hell and back, and it was only 8am.

“Look,” Brendon began, resting a hand on Josh’s back. “We don’t know what’s he been through. But by the sounds of it, it isn’t very good. There’s going to be questions from the police, if Tyler is even able to speak, hospital examinations, etc. He’s going to need a little space. From everyone.”

Josh sighed, knowing Brendon was right. He just … he couldn’t believe this was happening. He was in shock. Tyler is … Tyler is alive. Not dead. Here. Alive. It felt like a dream.

The rest of the day went as follows. Josh paced some more. Back and forth back and forth back and forth. Brendon offered to make food. Josh refused any. He drank coffee. Back and forth back and forth back and forth. He checked his phone every five minutes. Back and forth back and forth back and forth. He went for a walk. Back and forth back and forth back and forth. He called his mom. He cried. Back and forth back and forth back and forth. 

It was 7pm when his phone rang. 

“Hello?” Josh spoke anxiously.

“Josh? It’s Eli,” Tyler’s aunt spoke through the phone.

“What is it? Is everything okay?” Josh felt sick with adrenaline.

“Yes, god, yes everything is fine. We’re at home,” She said.

“Home? Tyler too?” Josh couldn’t believe it, he was envisioning Tyler broken-boned and unconscious, not waking up for days.

“Yes, Tyler too,” She sounded exhausted. “He wouldn’t speak to the police and the hospital gave him the good-to-go, although they suggest frequent check ups and possible therapy- anyway we can talk about this when you come over.”

Josh’s heart was beating a million beats a million. “Now? Can I come now?”

“Yes, of course, but we need to-”

“I’m on my way,” He hung up. He felt bad, but he couldn’t wait any longer.

He was out of the apartment before Brendon spoke a word.

The apartment was only a couple of streets over from Josh and Tyler’s home street, which also happened to be where Aunt Eli had a house as well. Josh would be the last to admit that he sped all of the way there, almost running multiple red lights. The only thing on his mind was Tyler Tyler Tyler Tyler. Tyler’s dark brown hair, the crinkles around his eyes when he smiled, his lips when he kissed him over and over and ov-

Focus Josh, focus. 

When he pulled up to the house he threw his seatbelt off and sped up the stairs out front, only stopping once he reached the door. His hand was frozen mid-air. He couldn’t bring himself to knock. His legs felt like jelly, the anxiety in his chest bubbling.

Luckily he didn’t have to knock, because the door swung open. Aunt Eli was standing in the doorway, and Josh had never seen her look more exhausted. Her hair was falling in strands around her face as she stared at Josh, a small, sad smile on her lips. Her hair was greying, the wrinkles on her skin looking slightly more prominent. It had been awhile since Josh had seen her, and it was clear that this whole situation had aged her.

“Josh,” She muttered as she reached forward and wrapped her arms around him. He brought his own arms up and hugged up back, feeling small tears form in his eyes.

He pulled away as she did, and Eli shut the door behind him and led him inside of the house. She gestured to the couch. 

“He’s in his room, but if you could just take a seat first,” She spoke, sitting down.

Josh sat down.

“I think that it’s important that you’re filled in before you see him,” She began.

“Is he okay?” Josh asked, the suspense killing him.

“He’s, well, he’s fine,” She didn’t sound convincing. “You need to understand, he’s been through a lot. He’s not going to be the same Tyler you knew before …”

Josh couldn’t take his eyes away from her face. 

“We don’t know the full details of what he went through, he’s hardly speaking at all, you see,” She continued. “What we do know is that last night he was spotted frantically running through a downtown area a few hours from here, most likely being chased, when the police found him and identified who he is.”

Her voice shook as she fought off tears.

“We know that he was kept somewhere, we don’t know where, and this all somehow connects to those bodies that keep popping up, you know the ones?”

Josh nodded, oh he knew the ones.

“Tyler apparently said that he knew them." She spoke quietly.

Josh shuddered. This was a nightmare. 

“He’s a little beat up, but no serious physical damage, so that’s a positive,” Eli tried for a sad smile.

Josh didn’t know what to say. He had so many questions, but he knew he had to be patient. He exhaled deeply.

“Has she called?” Josh asked.

Eli stared at him, clearly confused.

“Karen. Tyler’s Mom.” He said.

Eli looked down, anger appearing in her eyes. “No.”

Josh nodded, not completely surprised. Karen had been abusive towards Tyler his whole life, and when Tyler finally turned 18, he left Karen behind and moved in with Eli, Tyler’s father’s sister. Tyler's father had died when Tyler was very little, and Eli became like Tyler’s second mom. Josh had thought that maybe, just maybe, Karen would call, or stop by, or something considering the circumstance, but she didn’t. And Josh somehow hated her more.

“You can go see him now,” Eli said sadly, and Josh was already standing up. “But Josh, be careful. Be patient. He might not speak to you today.”

Josh nodded, and walked up the stairs. 

He walked down the hall until he was standing in front of Tyler’s room, and he once again couldn’t bring himself to knock. The anxiety returned, and he just stood there. 

Tyler was behind that door. Tyler. Tyler was breathing, moving behind that door. None of this felt real.

He raised his hand.

Knock knock knock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay sooooo, welcome to hell.
> 
> updates are going to be pretty random near the beginning as i get this thing going, but i will probably eventually get some sort of schedule going, woo!
> 
> also i know that in real life tyler's mom is named kelly, i just felt kind of weird using her real name because, like, i'm going to make her pretty horrible in this fic, so i feel more comfortable having her be a fictional mom with a fictional name ... ya feel
> 
> if you think i should add any more tags for triggers, let me know! i want everyone to feel safe reading this!
> 
> aaaand i think that's all, so, happy reading friends ~


	2. our hometown's in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler nodded. “I need you.”
> 
> Josh squeezed his hand. “I’m here.”

Silence. That’s what followed. Silence and and an actually not-so surprised Josh.

He didn’t know what to do. Does he knock again? Does he wait? He doesn’t want to scare Tyler or make him think that he has to see him. He takes a deep breath. Breathe Josh, breathe.

“Tyler?” He says lightly. “It’s Josh. Josh Dun. Um- I, uh, I’m here, outside the door,” Josh mentally smacked himself on the forehead. Of course he’s outside of the door, idiot.

He waits. And waits. And waits some more.

“I’m here.” Josh speaks.

He says it softer this time, more emotionally. He’s not saying he’s physically outside of the door, he means he’s just … here. Here for Tyler, here for whatever is going to come, just here. Josh shuts his eyes, feeling emotional.

“Come in.”

The two words are thrown at him like a forceful gust of wind, threatening to push him over. He steadies himself, gripping the door handle for moral support. Tyler’s voice sounds rough, like it hasn’t been properly used in a very long time. Josh takes a breath and opens the door.

Josh felt his insides react, every bone, every organ, every fluid in his body leap up and settle again when his eyes laid to rest on Tyler. Tyler, his best friend, his lover, the man who he spent every waking hour thinking about for three years, wondering if he’s dead or suffering or happy or sad or hungry or feeling anything, was right in front of him. Tyler was sitting on the ground, back resting on his wardrobe on the far right side of the room, legs crossed, hands tangled together in his lap as he stared at his fingers constantly intertwining. 

Eli was right, he was beat up. He had a black eye that trickles down the side of his face. His lip was split open, and he had a few stitches above his eyebrow. His hair was a tousled mess on the top of his head, and he had a few faint bruises running around his neck. Josh also noticed a few faint scars on his cheeks and one across his nose. Josh took in a deep breath. It could be worse, he thought. It could be much, much worse. 

And then Tyler looked up at Josh.

Josh once again felt as if he had been hit by wind. Tyler’s eyes were tired, but they were Tyler’s. They were those same, beautiful brown eyes that Josh had fallen in love with. They looked a little more beaten down, exhausted, and had most likely seen more than they ever should have, but they were those same eyes. 

Josh was trying to find the positives.

Tyler went to speak, his mouth opened but nothing came out. Josh furrowed his eyebrows together when Tyler tore his gaze away from Josh’s and looked back at his hands. 

Josh took a step forward, but then thought better of it and went to sit over beside the bed so that his back was leaning against it. He was across from Tyler, facing him, but a good enough distance to keep Tyler comfortable.

Silence followed. Josh was suddenly reminded of all of the times they had sat like this before in Tyler’s old house with his mom, or in Josh’s house when Tyler escaped to see him. The two would just sit here for many hours in silence, Josh understanding that sometimes all Tyler needed was Josh’s presence and that would be enough.

So Josh stayed quiet. He also looked down at his hands, only ever looking up to take quick peeks at Tyler. Josh noticed that he was wearing an oversized hoodie, but Josh didn’t know if it was oversized or if Tyler had just lost a lot of weight. Either way, it made Josh want to get up and hug Tyler. God, he wanted to hug him so badly, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good.

They must have sat there for an hour when Tyler spoke up.

“I missed you.” 

Josh’s head shot up, and he noticed that there was a single tear sliding down Tyler’s cheek. He looked so small.

“I missed you more than I’ve ever missed anything in my entire life,” Josh said back.

Tyler was still staring at his hands. “C-can you just, can you just talk? About anything, I just, I want to hear your voice.”

Josh’s heart was beating really fast. But he took in a deep breath and exhaled, and then he just started talking. About everything and anything. He started with random things that had no correlation, like how he loves when the sunset explodes with red and when a song has a good drum solo. About how his favourite sound is when he’s riding his skateboard on smooth pavement and the wheels glide so lightly, and the wind is in his face and he feels like he’s flying. All things Tyler already knows. Josh then moved on to things that Tyler didn’t know. Like how his job at the record store keeps him sane because he’s surrounded by music all the time and he gets paid to offer musical suggestions to customers. Or how Gay marriage became legal in the United States and Josh wanted to celebrate with no one else but Tyler. That’s when Josh moved on to deeper things. Like how he hardly ate for weeks when Tyler first disappeared, and how he cried himself to sleep for a solid year. Tyler had listened intently for the entire time Josh was talking, his eyes not leaving Josh’s until that last part. Then he buried his face in his hands and Josh stopped talking.

“I’m sorry I-” Josh began.

“No,” Tyler spoke, muffled. “Thank you.”

Now Josh really didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was walking on thin ice. He didn’t want to scare Tyler or make him feel bad and God he just wanted to do this right but he didn’t know how and-

“Come here, please,” Tyler spoke softly.

Josh stopped mentally panicking and slid on over so that he was beside Tyler. He didn’t want to touch him unless he asked, so he awkwardly sat there.

And then Tyler was pushing himself into Josh. Literally pushing himself, similar to a cat. He buried his face in Josh’s neck and Josh wrapped his arms around him and Tyler hugged him back and then Josh’s neck felt wet. Tyler was crying silently and Josh just held him, constantly repeating “I’m here, Ty, I got you, I promise, it’s okay, shh”.

“I-I thought I was going to die, Josh, I-” Tyler choked.

“I know, it’s okay, you’re here with me now,” Josh comforted, rubbing his hand up and down Tyler’s back. He could feel his spine.

“They all just started dying, I thought I was next,” Tyler cried.

Josh suddenly realized he was talking about the dead bodies that kept popping up before Tyler was found. Tyler apparently said that he knew them, Eli had said.

Tyler sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes with his sweater, but he kept both hands wrapped around Josh’s one hand, facing him. Josh squeezed back.

“There’s so much I don’t know, Josh,” Tyler was looking at Josh, his eyes wide and red. “They barely told me anything, the police want to talk but I don’t want to talk to them, I have nothing good to offer.”

“You talk to them when you’re ready, they can wait.” Josh assured him.  


Tyler looked down. “It’s not just them.”

Josh looked at him confusingly. Tyler sighed.

“It’s everyone,” Tyler said. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.”

“That’s okay Ty, you gotta recover at your own pace, however you need to.” Josh told him.

Tyler nodded. “I need you.”

Josh squeezed his hand. “I’m here.”

“I’m so tired, Josh.” Tyler said that like he had the weight of the world on him.

Josh glanced at the time. It read 12:21am. Damn.

“Let’s get you into bed.” Josh started to stand up. Tyler didn’t let go of his hand as he stood up on shaky legs and crawled into bed. Josh noticed he was already in sweat pants. He helped Tyler get his sweater off from around his head and tried not to react to strongly to the colourful bruises that littered his chest. Josh gulped. Tyler ignored his looks and crawled under the covers.

“Please don’t leave me,” Tyler whispered. Josh once again squeezed his hand and climbed onto the bed as Tyler moved over.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

To say that Josh slept would be an understatement. Actually, it would be a complete lie. He didn’t sleep at all. His mind was reeling. Where was Tyler taken? Why was Tyler taken? Why were they all killed but him? Josh wanted to ask Tyler why he was running through downtown when he was found, but he didn’t want him to say anything he didn’t feel comfortable with yet. It was frustrating but also understandable.

Tyler stirred a few times, a whimper or two escaping from his lips, and Josh would just rub his shoulder and then he would drift off again. It made Josh feel a little better knowing that he was able to help in some shape or form.

In the morning, Tyler woke up and jerked away from Josh so quickly that he almost fell off of the bed. 

“Hey, hey, it’s just me,” Josh held his hands up in defence.

For a moment Tyler just stared at him like he couldn’t believe he was real, and then he rubbed at his eyes and nodded, his eyes not meeting Josh’s. Josh treaded lightly.

“Do you want to go get some breakfast?” Josh asked. “I’m sure Eli will want to see you.”

Tyler just stared at the floor.

“You don’t need to, you know, talk or anything, but it would be good to get out of this room.” Josh continued.

Tyler winced, but he seemed to come around. “Okay.”

Josh nodded, walking to the door. But Tyler didn’t follow.

“I’m just going to the bathroom, I’ll meet you down there.” Tyler said.

Josh nodded, escaping from the room and letting out a giant breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Eli was in the kitchen when he walked downstairs, and when she saw him she started staring anxiously.

“He’s, well, he’s alright,” Josh said, a small smile on his lips. “I mean, he will be. He’s strong.”

Eli sighed. “He is.” 

“It’s the talking that he’s not feeling great about right now,” Josh told her. “So when he comes down he’s not going to be very vocal.”

She cleared her throat. “So he is coming down?” 

Josh nodded.

“Okay, I need to talk to you both when he gets down here.” Eli said, going back to the food in the kitchen.

Curious but not saying anything, Josh leaned against the wall and waited for Tyler.

He emerged a few minutes later, in the same clothes but much more awake eyes. Josh smiled at him and the two took a space on the couch, Tyler pressing his side against Josh. Josh linked his hand with Tyler’s.

Eli came in. “Morning Tyler.” She said cheerfully.  


Tyler looked at her and nodded before retreating his gaze to the ground. Eli didn’t take any offence, she merely clapped her hands together and sat down on the chair in front of them.

“The news outlets are going to get wind about this whole thing in a few hours,” She spoke, her knowing gaze on Josh’s. Josh exhaled. 

“Which means Tyler is going to have a lot of people wanting to visit, possible cameras on the lawn, etc. It’s going to be a bit of a shit show but Tyler, you just need to remember that you don’t need to talk to anyone you don’t want to, okay? I’m not letting anyone in this house unless you want me to.” Eli smiled.

Tyler nodded again. “Thank you.” He whispered.

“Alright then,” She stood up. “You two can stay there and I can bring you some food.” 

Tyler looked at Josh as Eli retreated to the kitchen. “I’m, uh, I just want cereal.” He said quietly. 

Josh understood. “Hey, Eli!” He called. “Is it alright if we both just have cereal?” 

“Of course, dear!” She called from the kitchen.

“Josh?” Tyler asked again. “T-thank you, for all of this, I- I really don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here.”

Josh’s heart exploded. “Anything for you, Ty.” He smiled.

The next few hours were a blur of news stations and the phone ringing, and Tyler sat still on the couch for all of it. The news mentioned that this was connected to the dead bodies, that Tyler is home resting, and that “we will have more info once Tyler is feeling better!”. The phone was ringing non-stop, and Josh felt his own cell buzz in his pocket every 30 minutes. Eventually he just shut it off, not wanting to deal with any questions right now. Eli was being an absolute trooper, answering every phone call and giving the same, calm explanation every single time. 

Until one phone call and Eli came back looking worse for wear. “It was the police again,” She ran a hand through her hair. Josh swore he heard Tyler gulp.

“They really want to speak to you, Tyler.” She said hesitantly. 

Tyler was staring at a spot on the wall. Eli sighed, she looked like she was about to say more when the phone rang again and she left the room to go answer it.

“I escaped.” Tyler muttered.

Josh’s head shot around. Tyler was still staring at the wall.

“I was in the same place for 3 years, same room, same hallways, same building, but then they moved me. Put me in some van with doors that swung open on the back. And I can’t … I can’t explain it. I just knew that that was my chance, so I broke the lock on the doors, and when it stopped I just threw myself out.”

Tyler’s hands were shaking, Josh rubbed his thumb along the one. 

“I ran. I knew I couldn’t stop running. I don’t know if they were chasing me because I didn’t look back.” He exhaled a shaky breath. “But that doesn’t, it doesn’t make any sense Josh. I hadn’t ate in days, I had no energy, but I was able to break the lock and run and I-” A dark look came over his eyes.

Josh waited, but Tyler didn’t continue. “It was probably adrenaline, Ty, it was working in your favour, you knew this was your chance and you took it.” 

“The police are going to call me a liar.” Tyler said.

“No they won’t, if they do I will hit them.” Josh tried to lighten the mood.

Tyler said nothing.

“I don’t want to push you, but, this means that they’re still out there, Tyler. The people who did this to you, I think you need to talk to the police. I’ll come with you, just tell them what you know and we can leave.” 

Josh waited. Tyler’s eyes looked lighter again. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Josh said back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand here we are, chapter 2!
> 
> so just a few quick things: number 1, your comments/kudos/bookmarks/etc are what drove me to post an update so quickly, so thank you! 
> 
> number 2, feel free to let me know if there's anything that you feel that i should change, this is my first chaptered fic and if you think i'm moving too fast or not dealing with a certain issue right, please please PLEASE let me know!! i won't be offended or anything, i seriously would rather you tell me than leave me in the dark!
> 
> and damn, one thing i didn't anticipate when starting this was how hard it is to find a spot to end each chapter, so if you feel like they end abruptly, that's probablyyyy because i genuinely didn't know where to stop writing
> 
> ANYHOO i hope you enjoyed this update, happy reading ~~


	3. hear me now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler stared back. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “It’s those kids.”
> 
> Josh crinkled his forehead, confused. Tyler sighed.
> 
> “I want to do this for them.” He spoke.

Boom boom tsh. Boom da boom boom tsh. Tshhhh boom boom tshhhh.

When Josh was nervous, he pretended his thighs were drums.

That’s exactly what he was doing right now as he sat on an extremely comfortable cushioned chair in an extremely comfortable looking room in a not-so comfortable place. A police station.

Tyler was next to him, once again staring apathetically at the wall in front of him. He hands gave him away, though. They were twisting and turning together in his lap. 

They were in a room that was most likely designed for comforting emotional family members when they’re going through something tragic, because it was off to the side of the working officers, a coffee table in front of them with a wonderfully sprouted flower. Oh, how the flower contradicted the energy in the room, Josh thought.

There was also another chair on the other side of the table that would soon be accompanied by whoever would be talking to them today. Josh stared at it, enjoying it’s emptiness while it lasted.

It had been a few days since Tyler agreed to talk to the police. They were meant to be here days ago, but every time Tyler woke up in the morning he refused. He spent most of his days in bed, and it scared Josh to death. Camera’s littered the lawn from around 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, and Josh came close multiple times to running out there and socking them in the jaw. He’s not even a violent person, but they were being so disrespectful it made Josh sick.

Josh had also met with a few members of Tyler’s family from his dad’s side, consoling them and telling them that Tyler was going to be okay and not to worry. Tyler still wasn’t feeling up to talking to anyone besides Josh, only giving Eli the bare minimum. When Eli went out to pick up a few things from the grocery store or to pick up coffee for her and Josh, Tyler would come down the stairs and sit in the living room, or stare out the window, or muddle around in the kitchen. But when Eli came back, he retreated to his room.

Josh knew it was bringing Eli down, but he tried to assure her that Tyler is most likely like this with everyone right now. Eli had smiled and said. “I know. He’s like this with everyone but you.”

His boss at the record store was being understanding. He told Josh to take as much time as he needs, and Josh couldn’t feel more grateful. He didn’t want to leave Tyler’s side.

Tyler woke up this morning and watched the news for a bit, but it was only when a reporter came on to show everyone the flowers littering the graves of the other dead bodies that Tyler moved. He immediately sat up and looked at Josh. “Can we talk to the police today?” And Josh and Eli were already halfway to the door.

Eli was waiting outside of the room knowing that Tyler would only feel comfortable with Josh at his side.

Josh was torn from his thoughts when a young blonde woman walked into the room wearing dark pants and a fashionable blazer. She looked kind, which made Josh feel a little better.

“Hi, my name is JJ, I’m a special agent with the FBI’s behavioural analysis unit,” She offered Josh her hand, which he shook. She simply waved at Tyler, and Tyler nodded slightly.

“Now I’m just going to ask you a few questions, but feel free to take a breather if you need, I want to make sure you’re comfortable, alright?” She asked Tyler.

Tyler nodded.

The first ten minutes were a disaster. Tyler couldn’t answer a single question. Agent JJ would just say “It’s alright, let’s try a different question.” But Tyler wouldn’t answer. He started shaking and then he was resting his elbows on his knees and pulling the hair on his head.

Josh looked at JJ. “Could you give us a minute, please?”

JJ nodded, getting up. “Of course.” She left the room.

Josh put a hand on Tyler’s back. “Hey buddy, come back to me.”

“I can’t do it.” Tyler whispered.

“Ty, look at me.” Josh tried.

Tyler looked up at him, his eyes slightly glassy. 

“It’s me, I’m right here,” Josh stared into his eyes. “Just start slow and if you need help, look at me, alright?”

Tyler stared back. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “It’s those kids.”

Josh crinkled his forehead, confused. Tyler sighed.

“I want to do this for them.” He spoke.

Josh then knew he was talking about the kid’s who died before him. Josh had a weird moment where he realized that Tyler probably had survivor's guilt. He hadn’t thought about it like that before.

“You can do it.” Josh smiled slightly.

Josh got up and opened the door, peeking his head out and motioning for Agent JJ to come back in. 

She sat down again, smiling. “Shall we have another go at it?”

Tyler nodded, his head held slightly higher. 

“Do you remember what kind of place you were held in?” JJ asked.

“It… it was a building, I think,” Tyler began. “Actually, it was definitely a large building. I was taken to many different rooms.”

“Okay, that helps,” She nodded. “Long hallways? Was it similar to a house?”

Tyler shook his head. “Long hallways, yes, but it was definitely, uh, like a warehouse maybe, but there were no windows.” 

“Were you ever taken outside?”

Tyler hesitated. “Not very often, only for very short periods of times. I-It was where I got to see the others.”

“The other kids?” JJ asked. 

Tyler was staring at his hands again, silent. Josh rubbed his shoulder. Tyler looked up at him and Josh gave him a reassuring nod. 

Tyler finally spoke. “Yes … I think they were worried we would get sun deprived.”

JJ looked deep in thought. “So you think that they cared for your well being?”

Tyler was playing with the sleeves on his sweater. “I think so, maybe, I don’t know.”

JJ nodded. “That’s good, it’s okay Tyler, you’re doing great.” Her eyes became very gentle. “Did they hurt you often?”

Tyler became quiet again. “Yes.”

Josh’s heart shattered. He knew that Tyler was hurt, but hearing him say it was much worse. He wasn’t prepared for what Tyler said next, either.

“They would … um, they would wake me up every morning to be taken to another room,” He hesitated. “They would sometimes punch me until I couldn’t move, or dunk my head in water until I passed out, or use a shock collar … this happened every morning, like clockwork.” Tyler wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Every morning?” JJ asked.

“Yes, well, no, there were times where they would go days without letting me out of my room, only slipping water under so that I didn’t die.” Tyler answered. His voice was becoming almost robotic. 

Josh felt ice in his veins. He suddenly wanted to grab Tyler’s hand and run out of there and never look back. He felt like every bit of happiness had been drained out of him.

But then he looked at Tyler, and he thought of those kids, and he realized that it could be worse. Tyler could have been found dead, he could have been like all of the others.

“The hospital reports said that you had track marks up your arms, do you-” JJ began.

“Those were just drugs that they gave me so that I didn’t die.” Tyler cut her off.

Josh could tell that JJ wasn’t buying it, but she moved on anyways. Josh was suddenly very, very confused. Tyler had been wearing long sleeves since the moment he came home, only ever taking them off to sleep under the covers. Was there something else going on here? Josh was still thinking when JJ continued.

“Did you ever see any of the people who did this to you?” JJ asked softly.

“I saw a few faces, but the rest would wear ski masks whenever I saw them.” Tyler told her.

“We have a sketch artist here, do you think you could remember some of their faces?” She asked.

Tyler sat there for a few moments, eyebrows furrowing together when he started shaking his head, a few tears forming.

“No, I, I wish I could, but I can’t remember what they looked like, I-I’m sorry I’m trying but-” The tears were leaking now. Josh grabbed his hand. 

“Hey hey hey, don’t worry, we weren’t expecting you to remember them, I was just telling you in case you did,” She comforted, holding forward a tissue.

Josh grabbed it from her and handed it to Tyler. After a few moments and Tyler was more calm, she started asking about Tyler’s escape and Tyler repeated what he had told Josh a few days ago. She thankfully didn’t question further how Tyler managed to break free, which Josh was grateful for considering he told Tyler that they would believe him. Josh was still skeptical, though. It really was bizarre. 

“I just have one last question for you, but it’s not really one I expect you to answer,” She said. “It’s more of a thinking-out-loud question. I’m still left to wonder what their motivations were to keeping you and the others held there. That’s the big mystery, isn’t it?” 

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. “I wish I could give you more, but I can’t. I-I don’t know why they did what they did.”

“If you remember anything else, you can give us a call anytime, alright?” She asked, standing up. 

Josh was already on his feet, anxious to get out of there.

They were walking out of the room and up to Eli when JJ thanked them for speaking to her and told them she would be in touch. As Josh was walking out, he felt a sickening feeling that Tyler was withholding a lot of truths. He had known Tyler his whole life, he knew when he was lying about the bruises on his wrists left from his mom, when he told Josh that he was fine when he was not, etc. There was no one that knew Tyler Joseph better than Josh Dun, and Josh Dun felt like there was much more to this whole thing. It was very, very far from over.

-

Tyler was antsy the entire drive home, and it was making Josh nervous. He kept telling Tyler that he did great, but Tyler wasn’t even looking at him.

And to make matters worse, there was a crew of cameras on their lawn once again.

“Oh, great, just what we need,” Eli looked angry.

Josh thought Tyler would be back to looking apathetic, but he had a dark look on his face. Josh had a bad feeling about this.

“Just keep your heads down and walk quickly, if they touch you I will call the police.” Eli said, turning the car off.

“Tyler! Please, give us one moment! Tyler, Tyler! Can you comment on the dead bodies that were popping up weeks before your reappearance? Tyler, please stop! Tyler! Just a few questions!”

The camera crew was getting louder as they pushed and shoved their way through the crowd, Josh tried to keep a hand on Tyler the entire time, practically shoving him through the door was they reached it. Eli slammed the door shut once they were inside as they all breathed heavy. 

Tyler stood still for a second, and then he lost it.

He charged forward and punched the wall with enough strength for his fist to go right through. He tore his shoes off of his feet and threw them across the room while Eli and Josh stood in shock. 

“Tyler-” Josh began. 

“Shut up!” He screamed, running up the stairs. They heard a few more bangs before it went silent.

“I’m gonna-” Josh began, jogging to the stairs.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Eli asked, a hand over her mouth.

Josh didn’t know, but he needed to know if Tyler was okay.

The door was wide open when Josh reached it, and Tyler was sat in the corner facing the wall.

“Tyler-” He said again, walking closer.

“Don’t.” Tyler said, venom in his voice.

Josh never knew a word could have so much power.

He was about to sit down, preparing to do what he did when he first was reunited with Tyler, but Tyler spoke again. 

“Leave.” He said.

“I don’t under-”

“I said, LEAVE!” Tyler yelled.

Josh’s heart was pounding, but he knew he wasn’t doing any good by staying there, so he exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Eli was sitting in the kitchen when he walked back downstairs. She stared up at him.

“I don’t know what just happened.” Josh sat down at the table, putting his head in his hands.

“I think he might just need some space,” Eli told him softly.

“I’ve never seen him get that angry before, the entire time I’ve known him,” Josh muttered. He felt sick to his stomach. He never wanted to see that kind of venom in Tyler’s face ever again, it didn’t feel right. None of what just happened felt right.

“Josh, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but why don’t you go home for a bit? Have a proper shower, maybe take a nap, I can call you if anything changes.” Eli placed a hand over his.

“He won’t even let you in his room,” Josh winced as soon as the words came out of his mouth. “Sorry.” He said instantly.

“Nah, I get it,” She said. “I’ll just make sure that he’s breathing, and who knows, maybe that little break down is what he needed. Just to get some emotions out.”

Josh didn’t want to leave, but he also felt like he was suffocating here. The house, while nice, was small and filled with a deep set of emotions. He needed to breathe.

“You’ll answer every call?” He asked, standing up.

“Of course, dear.”

-

“There he is! Josh Dun, back from the dead!” Brendon greeted him at the door with a beer in hand. 

Josh merely grunted at him, throwing himself on the couch and shutting his eyes.

“You look like hell.”

Brendon Urie ladies and gents, always telling it how it is.

“I saw you on the news,” Brendon said, throwing himself down beside Josh. “You went full-on Kim Kardashian with the way you pushed through the camera's, man, I can’t believe I’m rooming with a celebrity.”

“It’s not funny.” Josh grunted. 

“Oh c’mon, you need my humour after the kind of week you’ve had.” Brendon sighed. “But in all seriousness, how is he?”

Josh sighed, opening his eyes. “I don’t know anymore. He stays in his room all day, today was the only day we left the house.”

Brendon took a sip from his beer. “Well it’s only been a few days since he’s been back man, he’s not superman, it’s gonna take time.”

Josh exhaled. He was feeling a little better being out of that house, he felt like he could breathe again.

“I don’t know B, it’s the people thing that’s the worst. He can’t talk to anyone, today was the most he talked but that was only because it was to the police and he felt like he had to.”

“He talks to you though, right?” Brendon asked.

“Well, yeah, but he barely talks to his Aunt Eli, so he won’t come down the stairs when she’s at the house.” Josh ran a hand through his hair. 

“Have him move in here.” Brendon took another swig of his beer.

Josh chuckled darkly. “Oh yes, I’m sure you two would get on real well.”

Brendon smirked. “Well, I’m not denying that, but nah I would move out.”

“Haha, funny joke.”

“I’m serious.”

Josh sat up straighter. “Stop kidding around.”

Brendon held his hands up, beer as well. “I’m not! Ryan asked me to move in with him last week, I was just waiting to tell you and I didn’t know how after Tyler came back.”

Ryan was Brendon's boyfriend of three years. 

Josh just stared at him in disbelief. “Brendon, I can’t just … I can’t just ask you to leave I-”

“Ask me? I was going to leave anyways bro, this just falls into play perfectly.” Brendon smiled, looking proud of himself.

“I … I don’t know what to say.” Josh really didn’t.

Brendon tossed Josh the phone. “Don’t say anything to me then, call Tyler or Eli or whatever her name is, I need another beer.”

Brendon walked out of the room and Josh just sat there, staring at the phone in shock. He was about to dial when he remembered the blowout with Tyler right before he left the house. What if Tyler didn’t want to move in? What if he was sick of Josh breathing down his neck and he wanted nothing to do with him now? What if Josh accidently said something that really offended Tyler and Tyler was just done and-

Josh smacked himself on the head. He wouldn’t let his mind get the best of him. He dialed Eli’s number and waited.

It was worth a shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand here we are again!
> 
> so i don't wanna say i'm on a roll with posting these updates but ... i'm on a roll.
> 
> also i borrowed JJ from Criminal Minds as the fbi agent in this chapter because i <3 her
> 
> what else? ouuu the plot is thickening. and like josh said, this thing is farrrr from over. buckle your seat belts 
> 
> thank you guys for all of your comments/kudos/etc. you all fuel me with motivation to post quickly, so thanks again!
> 
> also: i made a tumblr specifically for ao3, so if you guys want to talk or ask more questions or anything like that, you can find me at http://anotherbooknerd.tumblr.com/
> 
> and as usual, happy reading ~


	4. you find you're not who you're supposed to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m messed up, Josh.”
> 
> Josh shook his head. “Don’t say that.”
> 
> “No, you don’t understand. There’s something wrong with me, something that wasn’t wrong before.”

Josh Dun felt alright.

Which was weird, considering the circumstances, obviously, but he didn’t feel too bad. Tyler Joseph was sat with his body sprawled out on the couch, his head in Josh’s lap, his mouth slightly open as he slept. As he slept in THEIR apartment. On THEIR couch. 

And like he said, it was weird considering the circumstance, but things really did feel slightly okay in this moment. He had an apartment with his lover. And sure, there was still a lot that didn’t add up, there was still a lot of shit that had to be figured out, a lot of problems that were far from being solved. But as Josh stared down at Tyler’s sleeping face …

He felt okay. Even for just a moment.

~ Earlier that day ~

“Call me if you need anything, okay? Literally anything, even if you just want me to bring over some toilet paper or iced coffee or hell, even just a hug I-”

“We will Eli, thank you so much.” Josh smiled at her as he attempted to shut the door behind her. 

They had just finished transferring all of Tyler’s stuff from the car, which wasn’t much, only taking two or three trips from the car to the apartment.

Once Josh had finally ushered Eli out of the door, he shut it behind him and turned around, taking a deep breath. Okay, here we go.

Josh wasn’t completely sure where he stood with Tyler at the moment, things had been a little strange leading up to getting Tyler to move in.

He had called Eli and she had agreed that this would be best, however she was very persistent on making sure that Tyler was the one that agreed to it. She had told Josh that she would attempt to talk to Tyler, and if he doesn’t speak to her she would just have Josh come back over to once again attempt to get Tyler to talk to either of them.

The strange part was that Eli called Josh back about an hour later and said that she had spoke to Tyler through the door of his bedroom and Tyler had just said “Yes.”

One single word. No coaxing, no “I’ll think about it”, just “Yes”. That made Josh feel more confused than ever, considering Tyler had been screaming at him the last time he saw him.

The next morning Eli had woken to find Tyler walking down the stairs with his bags all packed and ready to go. Eli, not wanting to set Tyler off again, had called Josh and said “Um, he’s ready to move in … today.”

Luckily, Brendon was sleeping over at Ryan’s house the past couple of days so a) the apartment wasn’t a complete disaster like it usually was when Brendon was around and b) Tyler could move in comfortably.

The downside, Brendon’s room wasn’t completely cleared out yet and there would need to be some sort of interaction between Tyler and Brendon when Brendon comes to clear out the rest of his things.

Not wanting to worry about that right now, Josh turned around to find Tyler sitting upright on the couch, on THEIR couch, legs crossed under him and a pillow in his lap.

“So,” Josh began, crossing his arms playfully and smiling. “Do you remember that time we went camping and neither of us had ever drank before?”

Tyler seemed to be searching his memory for the incident, and then he nodded, looking up at Josh.

“We had told our parents we were going with a group of friends, but we were actually just going the two of us. God, how gay.” Josh shook his head.

A small smile was forming on Tyler’s lips as he looked down at the pillow in his lap. Josh wanted nothing more than to see that smile grow.

“I remember near the beginning of the night, we had both had a few drinks in us, and we weren’t like, drunk yet, but we were for sure tipsy. I remember I turned to you and said that one day, I want us to live together. You turned to me and said that you want that too, but it seemed like too much of a pipe dream.” Josh chuckled.

Tyler was really smiling now, and Josh was sure it was the best thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

“And now my friend, behold!” Josh gestured around the room, turning in a circle before plopping down next to Tyler on the couch. “I now declare the two of us, roomies.”

Tyler laughed, it was a small laugh, only lasting for a second, but Josh had never felt more proud of himself.

“It’s good to see you never lost your dramatics,” Tyler said, looking at him.

Josh nodded, a grin sweeping over his face. He laid his head back on the cushion and shut his eyes, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was silent for a long time, so Josh opened one eye to see that Tyler was watching him. Josh sat up straighter then, turning so that his body was facing Tyler. He could tell Tyler wanted to say something.

“You know you can tell me anything,” Josh said.

Tyler hesitated. “I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” Josh asked.

“I got … really angry the other day,” Tyler said, playing with his hands again.

“Hey, it’s alright Ty, I don’t blame you,” Josh comforted.

“You should … I lost control, I could feel it Josh, physically feel myself losing it and I was trying so hard to stop it but I couldn’t and I just … I’m sorry.”

Josh slowly placed a hand over Tyler’s, trying to get him to stop picking at his hands. Josh didn’t want him to feel like that was his fault, he had been through so much, he didn’t deserve to take the blame for anything going on in his head.

“I’m messed up, Josh.”

Josh shook his head. “Don’t say that.”

“No, you don’t understand. There’s something wrong with me, something that wasn’t wrong before.”

Josh furrowed his eyebrows together. “You’ve been to hell and back, Ty, you can’t blame yourself for having these emotions-”

“No, Josh, y-you don’t get it. Something is different. I can feel it.”

Tyler then turned to Josh, his eyes looked frantic.

“Please Josh, I need you to believe me,” He said. “I can’t have you saying the regular things like ‘This is normal’ and ‘You’ve been through a lot’ because I know Josh, I know something is different and I can’t explain it, I just know and-”

“Okay Tyler, okay, I believe you,” He wanted to be whatever Tyler needed him to be right now. And if he needed someone to believe him, he could do that.

Tyler nodded, calming down a bit. 

“Three years ago, if I felt myself getting angry, I could control it,” Tyler continued. “I would lose it sometimes, but that was normal, it was the kind of ‘losing it’ that everyone goes through. But now … It’s like I’m standing on a wobbly platform, and if I sway too much to one side, I lose all control.”

Josh suddenly understood why Tyler was being so apathetic all of the time. He felt that he had to be uninterested in situations or he would tip. 

‘I think I might be stronger too, I’m eating less but I’ve never been able to punch through a wall before.” Tyler was tapping his foot nervously.

“So … why is this happening? Was there any indication that they were doing this to you for the past three years?” Josh asked.

Tyler shook his head, but then he stopped abruptly. “I lied to that federal agent.”

Josh wasn’t surprised. He didn’t say anything as Tyler continued. 

“Well … I didn’t lie completely.” He sighed. “The drugs they gave me, they stopped the pain, so for the longest time I really did believe that they were just drugs to keep me alive, to keep me from dying after the torture. But … then I realized that they were giving them to me when I didn’t need them. I would be waterboarded, and afterwards I would feel healed … and then they would give me more drugs. I didn’t understand why. But now …”

“So they were injecting some crazy serum into you,” Josh nodded his head in understanding. “But why? What was their aim?”

Tyler shook his head. He didn’t know. Josh suddenly had another thought.

“Wouldn’t the serum have come up in the hospital records?” He asked, confused.

“See, that’s what I thought,” Tyler exclaimed. “The doctors, they saw the track marks, so they started running some tests. I was nervous because I didn’t want them to see the results and worry that the serum was dangerous and have me admitted into some crazy lab to be experimented on. But then the results said that nothing was in my system, and that made me even more worried. Worried, and confused.”

This wasn’t adding up. Josh didn’t know what to say, his mind was reeling.

“I think that I was partly relieved too, because maybe my suspicions were false and they weren’t injecting me with anything different, but then I started feeling like I was on a wobbly platform, and I just knew … this is different.” Tyler let out a big breath. “That’s why I lied to that agent, because I don’t know what I would do if I was sent to some crazy lab. I can’t do that Josh, I just … can’t.”

It also explains why Tyler’s been covering his arms. The less suspicions, the better. 

They were silent for a few minutes, neither knowing where to go with this.

“Man this is…” Josh searched for the right word. “This is fucked.”

Tyler broke out into a small smile, which made Josh smile, and then they were both sitting there just smiling. Neither of them swore very often, but it seemed fitting given the situation.

Tyler was then laying down so that his head was in Josh’s lap. Josh slowly reached down and started running his hand through Tyler’s hair.

“What do I do, Josh?” He asked tiredly. 

“For now you need to focus on recovering.” Josh told him softly.

“What if I turn into some kind of freak?” He sounded scared.

“I don’t think that’ll happen,” Josh was still running his hands through his hair. “If it does you’ll be my freak. Oh god, sorry that was cheesy.”

Tyler chuckled, but Josh could tell he was still worried.

“We’ll figure this out together, okay?” Josh just wanted to ease his worries.

Tyler nodded, and then he was quiet. It only took a few minutes and Tyler was out like a light.

-

Now Josh was left to his own thoughts once again. When he used to lay awake dreaming of the day Tyler would return to him, he never expected this. Why were those people injecting Tyler with some kind of serum? What was the point? What was the serum supposed to do? So far he knew that it made Tyler angry, and possibly stronger. Those things don’t go well together, Josh thought. But still, if it was going to do anything potentially life threatening to Tyler, it would have already, right? 

Josh’s mom always taught Josh to look at the positives in situations, so he looked down at Tyler’s sleeping face. That’s when he realized that hey, things weren’t too terrible. Tyler was here, alive, after all.

After an hour of sitting there, running a hand through Tyler’s hair, tracing circles on his back through his shirt, thinking and thinking and thinking, Josh got bored. He could see the remote on the coffee table in front of him and it was just out of reach. Slowly, he maneuvered his arm so that he could reach forward and grab it without waking Tyler. Tyler didn’t seem to notice, if anything his mouth just slackened slightly more.

He turned on the TV and quickly made sure that the volume was low as to not wake Tyler. The news was the first channel that popped up, and Josh was about to turn the channel because he did not feel like possibly seeing more of his life displayed for the world to see, when something caught his eye.

It was a news reporter on his and Tyler’s home street. She was talking into the camera, and that’s when Josh heard a name that sent shivers down his spine.

“Earlier we met up with Karen Joseph, Tyler Joseph’s mother,” She spoke, her voice too cheery given the situation. “Mrs. Joseph has not been actively in Tyler’s life for quite some time, but given recent events we wanted to see if she had any choice words on the topic. Take a look.”

Josh couldn’t turn the channel now.

The TV then turned to a slightly shaky camera following Karen Joseph getting out of her car and walking up to her house. There was a microphone being shoved in her face as she calmly kept walking.

“Mrs. Joseph! What do you have to say about your son’s return?”

She stopped at the front of her door and turned to the camera. “I don’t have a son anymore.”

Josh slapped himself on the forehead. The media was gonna have a field day.

“You haven’t seen him since he was found?” The reporter asked.

“No comment.” She replied back.

“You have nothing to say about your missing son of three years?” The reporter even sounded stunned.

That’s when it appeared on her face. A sickening smile. “No comment.”

And then she walked inside.

It was the smile Josh knew all too well. It was the smile he saw on her face when she would tell Josh to go home because she had to “deal with her son”, and Josh would later find Tyler with bruises on his body and blood shot eyes. It was the smile she had when she stood with an arm around Tyler at church as she talked to the other parents about how much of a proud mother she is. It was the smile that said that she had the power.

Josh didn’t feel like watching TV anymore. He shut it off.

That’s when he noticed that Tyler’s eyes were wide open.

“Did you see-” Josh began.

“Yes.” Tyler answered, stretching and sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, but he didn’t look that bothered. Josh did.

“I don’t like that woman.” Josh stated, he didn’t know what else to say.

Tyler shrugged. Josh didn’t know if he was acting apathetic or if he just genuinely didn’t care too much. 

“It’s funny,” Tyler began. “She used to be my biggest demon, now she’s pretty far down the list. I’ve seen … well, I’ve seen worse than her now.” He laughed darkly. “I guess that’s not the most positive thing to say.”

Josh felt lighter at seeing Tyler being able to talk more openly, more casually. It was just last week that he could barely get a word out. He took this as a win.

Before Josh could say anything back, Tyler was standing up. He started walking, almost as if in a daze, over to the other side of the room. Josh was confused until he saw the keyboard in the corner. Tyler stopped in front of it, just staring.

“You can play it. Brendon won’t mind.” Josh told him, standing up but then sitting on the back of the couch so that he was facing Tyler. 

Tyler sat down in front of it and ran his hand over the keys but not hard enough to make a sound. He was lightly feathering the keys as if he wasn’t sure if they were real or not.

Josh suddenly felt like he was disturbing the moment. Wanting to give Tyler some space with the keyboard, he got up and walked into the kitchen. 

To be real, Josh wasn’t much of a cook. Actually, he wasn’t one at all. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure how he made it this long living away from his mom who would cook for him 24/7. But he made due anyways, right now putting together a little fruit palate because fruit was fruit and all he had to do was put it on a plate and make it look slightly attractive. 

He was just finishing making a little smiley face using blueberries as eyes and strawberries for the mouth when he heard it. A soft, sweet melody coming from the piano. He froze, feeling like if he moved then the music would go quiet. 

The piano started getting louder, ringing out throughout the entire apartment so Josh slowly tiptoed into the other room, peeking his head out.

Tyler’s eyes were closed as his hands roamed lightly over the keys. This was the first time since Tyler came back that Josh saw him look completely at peace. His face was calm, zen, as he played and played and played. Josh suddenly realized that he could listen to Tyler play for the rest of his life.

Then came the sound of keys jingling in the door, and Tyler stopped playing, looking as if he just woke up from a dream.

A few moments later and Brendon was walking in the door holding a giant garbage bag and whistling to himself.

“Ah hello, Tyler, Josh,” He nodded at both of them as he walked in like nothing was out of the ordinary. He threw his keys on the counter and started walking around, stuffing stuff into the garbage bag. 

“Dude, what are you doing?” Josh asked, eyes following him around the room. Tyler was looking at his hands but also sneaking peaks at Brendon whenever he was turned away.

“Moving out, well, kind of,” Brendon said, walking over to his room in the back. Josh took one quick glance at Tyler before jogging after him. Brendon was stuffing his clothes from his closet into the bag now.

“I don’t want to pay for a moving van because like, those things are way overpriced,” Brendon was saying. “But I also don’t want to move out all of my things from this place because I mean, I’m still going to be around here, if you let me obviously.”

Josh was just staring at him. 

“So I’m just going to collect my things in little trips.” He walked over and picked up his guitar, attempting to put it in the garbage bag before shaking his head and deciding to just carry it. “I think this is all I can fit for now. 

“Okay but, why a garbage bag?” Josh asked, arms crossed. 

“This is the biggest bag I own!” He exclaimed. He started to walk out of the room when he stopped and turned back to Josh. 

“Also did you like how I introduced myself to Tyler?” He whispered. 

Josh just stared at him. “Oh yeah, that’s right, you didn’t.”

“That’s the point!” Brendon loudly whispered. “I mean you told me he’s nervous around people, so I figured big formal introductions wouldn’t sit nicely with him, so I decided I would be really nonchalant.” He sounded so proud of himself. 

Josh had to admit, he appreciated Brendon’s careful thinking, so he shrugged. 

“Yeah yeah, it was a pretty good idea.” Josh smirked.

Brendon slapped him on the shoulder and walked back into the main room. Josh followed.

“Anyways, I got a boyfriend to fuc- I mean, I got a boyfriend to make a nice, formal, candlelit dinner for, so I’m gonna head out.” Brendon said as he carried his abnormally large garbage bag to the front door. Tyler was standing away from the piano now, leaning against the wall.

“Aw, leaving so soon?” Josh faked sadness. 

Brendon opened the door and blew a kiss. “I know you’re secretly in love with me Josh Dun.” And he walked out.

Josh suddenly had a thought, so he chased after him.

“What about your keyboard?” He called after Brendon.

“What keyboard?” Brendon asked, still walking.

Josh jogged after him. “Your keyboard! I know you can’t go two seconds without playing it so I just thought-”

“Dude can’t you just let me have a cool, dramatic exit like in those movies?” Brendon finally stopped, turning around. He sighed. “I’m leaving it here as a gift.”

Josh cocked his head to the side. “What?”

Brendon shook his head. “Tyler plays piano, right?”

Josh nodded.

Brendon smiled, then walked away from him.

Josh decided he would let Brendon have his dramatic exit. Inside though, he felt incredibly grateful to have such an amazing friend like Brendon Urie.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet. Tyler and Josh ate Josh’s fruit platter and then Tyler went back to playing the keyboard. Josh took some cushions from the other room and laid them on the floor beside the keyboard so that he could sprawl out and just listen. Tyler took the keyboard off of it’s stand so that it was laying on the ground beside Josh. He played with his legs crossed. He ended up playing for a solid three hours straight, eventually humming lightly. Josh had missed this so much it physically hurt. He hoped Tyler would sing again soon. 

Tyler soon stopped and stretched his arms backwards, sleepily rubbing his eyes. He sat there silent for a few minutes before speaking.

“I want to visit them,” Tyler spoke quietly.

“Mmm?” Josh asked tiredly.

“Their graves,” Tyler whispered. “I want to say goodbye.”

Josh understood. The kids that were in captivity with Tyler, they were resting together.

“We can do that.” Josh told him.

They eventually found themselves drifting off to the bedroom and laying down. Josh wasn’t sure if Tyler was going to sleep in Brendon’s room or join him, but he clearly didn’t have to think about it because he was soon stripping down to just his sweatpants and crawling into bed. Josh lay next to him, and it didn’t take long for Tyler to move so that he was laying with his head nuzzled into Josh’s chest, Josh’s arm wrapped protectively around him.

It was then that Josh felt the urge to kiss him. God, he wanted to kiss Tyler so badly. He missed the nights when they would make out for hours, sometimes have sex and sometimes just cuddle happily with the knowledge that they had each other. He wanted to reach down, put a soft hand under Tyler’s chin and kiss him lightly, trail a hand down his stomach and-

No. He couldn’t. Not with Tyler in such a vulnerable state. He didn’t know what kind of demons were in Tyler’s head right now, what kind of battles he was facing or what he needed from Josh. Right now, it was evident that Tyler just needed Josh to be there. Anything sexual had to be initiated by Tyler, because Josh would hate himself if he ever realized that he took advantage of Tyler’s state. 

So he let out a calm exhale, gave Tyler a short kiss on his head, breathed in the smell of his hair, and closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah! some fluff! that's new!
> 
> my favourite combo: fluff & angst
> 
> happy reading friends ~
> 
> tumblr: anotherbooknerd


	5. air catcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh plopped down so that he was sitting, no longer crouching. “You let it out.”
> 
> Tyler nodded. “At least we know what happens now when I get angry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: child abuse & homophobic language

The drive to the graveyard was silent. Tyler was staring out the window, and Josh was happy to see that his expression wasn’t the usual apathetic, disinterested look that he had grown so used to these past couple of days. Maybe Tyler felt that he could trust himself around Josh. Maybe, just maybe, Josh could be that for Tyler. Tyler’s eyes had a hint of nervousness in them as he fidgeted with his hands.

The two had had an okay morning. Tyler had woken at around 8am with a start from some sort of nightmare. Josh had asked him if he wanted to talk about it, but Tyler just shook his head and got up to get himself a glass of water. Josh, not wanting to pry, decided to make them both cereal and they finished off their morning cuddling on the couch as they silently agreed to ignore the news stations and watch Friends reruns.

The minute they began walking through the cemetery Josh felt a wave of nostalgia pass over him. Josh himself had never lost anyone that was close to him, but he had visited a graveyard with Tyler many times to visit Tyler’s dad. Tyler was only five when his father passed, but Tyler still missed him very much. Josh knew that Tyler often wondered if his life would have been different if his father was still alive, if his mom would have kept her hands away. Tyler had voiced to Josh once that he felt like his mom abused him because he reminded her of his dad. 

The memory made Josh hesitantly reach forward and hold Tyler’s hand, wanting to give him space in case he pulled away, but Tyler just gripped on tight.

The graves weren’t together inside of the cemetery, but there was a little memorial dedicated to them near the back. Tyler told Josh that he wanted to visit each individual grave and then the memorial last. 

The first grave that they visited was for Erik Higgons. Josh remembered him as being the first body that was found. The two stood there, just staring down at it for a second, and then Tyler was kneeling in front and praying. Josh stood back to give him space, not wanting to hover. 

Josh wondered how close Tyler was with these kids. He had said back at the police department that he got to see them outside, but Josh had no idea if they got to talk, if they connected, etc. But as Josh stared down at Tyler, he knew that either way, Tyler felt some sort of guilt at being the only survivor.

When Tyler was finished praying he reached into his backpack and pulled out a flower before carefully placing it on the grave. After a quiet moment he was standing up and reaching for Josh’s hand again, and they made their way to the next one.

Tyler’s face was a mix of sad and pale, with just a hint of apathy. Josh noticed that his jaw was clenched together. Josh gripped his hand tighter.

They repeated the same ritual at each grave. Kenny Wells, Ted Robertson and Anthony Horton. Josh noticed Tyler quickly wipe a single tear away at the last one, and Josh wondered if Anthony meant a little more to him than the others. 

Silently, hand in hand, they made their way over to the memorial. It was a tiny stone with the four names carved into it, and Josh noticed from afar that people had placed tons of flowers and pictures and other miscellaneous objects that most likely had meaning around it. 

As they were approaching, however, they could see the back of a stranger already standing there. Josh suddenly felt awkward, not wanting to disturb anyone in their moment of grief. Josh could feel Tyler slowing as well, most likely not wanting any confrontation. Tyler was gripping his last flower in the hand that wasn’t in Josh’s, and Josh could tell he wanted to go forward.

“Let’s go.” He said quietly, taking a step.

However, they both only got a few feet forward before the mystery person was turning around to face them.

And Josh felt his stomach drop to the floor.

Oh god, it couldn’t be worse, he thought.

It was Karen Joseph.

Karen Joseph and her damn stupid smile.

Tyler stopped immediately, dead in his tracks. Josh did as well, and for some reason the grip on Josh’s hand only tightened. Josh looked over at Tyler and his face had gone even paler as his eyes looked at his mother in disbelief. 

As the three stood there, Josh couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time the three of them had been in the same place. The night that changed everything.

-

**3 and a half years ago. December 2nd.**

“Josh, Josh shit, it’s bad Josh, it’s- ouch, fuck,” Tyler spoke over the phone.

“Tyler? Tyler speak to me, what’s going on, what happened?” Josh was already out of bed and running around his apartment to find a shirt. 

It was 2am, and Tyler calling him at 2am was never good. 

“She hit me but, shit, she hit me really hard, Josh, I don’t know what to do, I don’t feel good,” He sounded distant. 

“Are you still at home? Ty, I’m coming, stay there,” Josh was grabbing his keys. He could get there quickly. At this point Tyler was commuting to college, he didn’t have the money to pay for residence as much as he wished he did. Josh was working and living at the apartment, so he wasn’t far.

“You can’t! If she catches you here, she’ll-she’ll-” Tyler started, but cut himself off with another pained noise.

“Where did she hit you? And I don’t care Ty, this is the last straw, you can’t stay there anymore.” Josh was almost to his car.

“My head, w-with a plate.” Tyler stuttered.

“Tyler…” Josh felt sick.

“J-Josh I think you need to come, actually, this is bad, I don’t … fuck I’m dizzy.” 

“Just keep talking to me, okay? Don’t close your eyes.” Josh read about this stuff.

“Okay.” Tyler said sleepily.

The next few minutes were a blur. Josh sped to Tyler’s house and ran around the back, using the latter to get to Tyler’s room. It was a system they had worked out long ago, Tyler’s mom often went down to the basement to smoke after one of her rampages. Once Josh was inside, he found Tyler clutching his head and sitting on his bed. There was a cut on his forehead and it was bleeding heavily, and Josh was reaching to dial 911 when Tyler practically sobbed at him to not. He knew his mom would find out, and Karen had threatened to kill Tyler long ago if he told anyone. As much as Josh had pleaded Tyler to tell the police and have her locked up where she couldn’t hurt him anymore, Tyler had refused, and Josh wasn’t going to do anything behind Tyler’s back.

So Josh hauled Tyler into his car and sped to the nearest hospital where Tyler was admitted for having a concussion. He told them that he fell when he was with Josh.

Josh stood at his bedside as Tyler was knocked out by the drugs, running a thumb along his hand when Karen walked in with that stupid, fake smile on her face. Josh was seething with anger, and Karen’s eyes had a dark look behind them as she stared at Josh and Tyler holding hands.

“So, this is what’s been going on behind my back?” She was still smiling, obviously putting on a show for the doctors.

“Why are you here?” Josh asked.

“He’s my son.” She answered, reaching forward to put an arm on his shoulder. Josh slapped it away.

“How dare you, I-” She began.

“He’s not staying with you anymore.” Josh was looking at her through slits, he was so angry he was afraid he was going to snap and get kicked out, but Tyler’s hand in his was grounding him. He had to do this right.

“And I suppose you get to make this decision, hm?” She asked, staring him down.

“He turned 18 yesterday, you knew this was coming.” Josh told her. Him and Tyler had been planning for Tyler to leave soon, they were just trying to figure out a way to do it smoothly. This may not be the smoothest of ways, but it would have to do. 

Karen looked a little taken aback by that.

“Oh, did you not even know it was his birthday?” Josh asked.

“I knew!” She snapped defensively. “That doesn’t mean anything, I’m paying for his college-”

“We’ll work something out.” Josh said cooly. 

She stared daggers at him, then changed the subject. “When were you planning on telling me that you two are a bunch of gays?”

Josh smirked at her. “We didn’t think you deserved to know.”

“You can’t speak to me like tha-”

“Like hell I can’t, get out Karen. Do yourself a favour, and get out, and never come back.” Josh was sick of seeing her face, and he didn’t want Tyler to wake up to her standing over him.

She looked hesitant for a moment, but then she took another look at Josh’s hand wrapped protectively around Tyler’s, and she seemed to change her mind.

“You know what, fine. You two have fun being sinners together. I’ll leave, but I better never see either of you come asking me for help, because if you are going to be open about this I can’t be associated with you.” She acted like that was a hard thing for Josh to do.

He didn’t even say goodbye to her, he just turned back to Tyler’s sleeping face, trying to calm himself down.

It was after that that Tyler moved in with his Aunt Eli and she was able to use her savings to pay for Tyler’s tuition. It was steep, but Tyler also got a part time job to help her out and Eli was pretty well off on her own. 

Neither of them saw Karen after that, and Josh soon realized that it was actually their sexuality that saved them from Karen, because Josh wasn’t sure if she would have given up that easy if it wasn’t for them being gay. Karen was too proud of her “perfect” reputation at her church.

-

**Present time.**

Now here they were, back with the evil witch from the west, hand in hand once again.

Josh didn’t know who was going to be the first to speak until he saw Karen open her big mouth, but then Tyler was speaking.

“What are you doing here?!” 

His voice was seething with rage.

Uh oh.

“Oh hello Tyler, how have you been?” Karen asked, fake sweetness in her voice.

“Oh, you can’t be serious …” Josh muttered, rage boiling in his blood.

How has he been? How could she seriously ask that question after Tyler’s been through hell and back? Josh’s thoughts were going a mile a minute. 

“Why are you here?” Tyler’s hand was shaking in Josh’s, either from rage or because he was speaking to the woman who abused him his entire life. Or both.

“I’m visiting a memorial, is that so out of the ordinary?” She voiced fakely.

“I don’t want you here,” Tyler spoke through his teeth. “Get. Out.”

“Oh, honey, you don’t have the right to do that.” She smiled.

“Don’t push me.” Tyler was getting angrier by the second. 

“Don’t push him.” Josh spoke up. Honestly, he didn’t know what would happen if Tyler lost his lid right now, but if there was anyone he wouldn’t mind him blowing up on it was Karen Joseph.

But the logical part of Josh’s mind knew that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

“Oh, but I want to push you.” She took a step toward them, and they both took a step back. She laughed. Josh hated that they gave her that satisfaction.

Josh’s hand was going numb from where Tyler was squeezing it, and then he noticed that Tyler was balling his other hand into a fist. Josh swore he saw a hint of red in Tyler’s eyes. This was heading south fast.

“You don’t belong here! GET OUT!” Tyler full-on screamed, and Josh felt the wind around them pick up.

Oh no.

And Karen was smiling wider now. _What the?_ Josh thought. _She’s really pushing him._

“You’re visiting the kids that all died, except for you, right?” Karen spoke, grinning wide. “Does it bother you that I’m here?” Karen looked super focused on Tyler’s face, eyes unwavering from his.

Josh was confused. He knew Karen was bad, but, it seemed like she wanted him to blow up. This wasn’t adding up, none of this was.

“Tyler, I think we should-” Josh began.

Tyler was shutting his eyes now, tightly, and his other hand was coming up to grip his neck, as if he was trying to centre himself. Or suffocate himself.

“No, no no no no …” Tyler was repeating over and over again.  
“Oh, Tyler, how do you feel that-”

“I SAID GET OUT!” Tyler screamed, his loudest yet.

Josh lost his grip on Tyler as he brought both hands forward and pushed the air, and Karen went down on her butt with force. Josh felt dizzy, Karen had been standing a good couple of feet away from them, Tyler wasn’t in reach of her, yet she went down…

And the air pushed her.

And Tyler was staring, shocked. But he still looked incredibly angry.

Karen scrambled to her feet and backed up. And then she was running away. Her smile was gone, but right before she turned around Josh swore he saw the corners twitch up.

Josh looked back at Tyler who had dropped to the ground and was now crouching, gripping his hair.

“Josh, you need to leave, I’m gonna explode I-I can feel it,” Tyler said into the ground.

“Like hell I’m leaving,” Josh crouched down with him, trying to centre him.

“Josh, fuck, I- I can’t control it, we need to get out of here…” He stood up, clutching his head.

“Okay, c’mon,” Josh grabbed onto him and steered them out of there.

They made it to the car as fast as they could, Josh helping Tyler into the front seat as his whole body shook. He pulled his knees to his chest and was once again clutching his hair in his fists.

That’s when Josh noticed his eyes.

They were red.

“Your eyes-”

“I know! Just drive, please Josh-”

“Where do I go?” Josh asked, getting into the front seat and pulling out of the parking lot.

“I don’t know, Josh, anywhere, fuck, somewhere open, I don’t know what I’m gonna do …” Tyler sounded far away.

“Okay okay, there’s a forest area up here, I’ll just-”

“Hurry!” Tyler yelled, rocking back and forth.

Josh hammered on the gas, speeding over to the side of the road near the forest and stopping. Tyler was already out of the car, sprinting into the forest.

Josh chased after him.

They ran for about a minute before Tyler was falling to the ground in a relatively open area in the forest, Josh fell beside him, trying to see if he was alright.

“Josh you need to leave!” Tyler was clutching the grass under him into his hands, his eyes squeezed shut as he bowed his head, clearly trying to contain his emotions.

“I can’t do that, Ty.” Josh was trying his hardest to be calm.

The air around them started picking up again, and Josh suddenly felt it would be smart for him to back up. He stepped back as the air spun around Tyler, and then Tyler was screaming. A loud, drawn out scream.

And the trees were blowing, and there was sand in Josh’s eyes as he shielded his face with his arm, and the grass was whipping in his direction and the wind was smacking his clothes around his body and then- silence.

When the sand cleared Tyler was crouching there, breathing heavy and falling onto his back. The grass around him was torn from the ground, leaving a circle of dirt around him.

Josh ran forward, crouching beside him.

“Tyler? Tyler! Oh my god-” Tyler’s eyes flung open. Josh was relieved to see that they were brown.

He was breathing heavily, and blinking over and over, but he seemed relatively himself.

“What just- what just happened?” He asked, Josh helped him sit up.

“Good question.” Josh answered him, inspecting his body to make sure nothing was seriously injured. “How do you feel?”

Tyler rubbed his forehead. “Weird, but, good? I don’t know how to explain it.”

Josh didn’t know what to say. He was trying to keep himself calm, attempting to ignore the thoughts that were screaming at him saying “this is impossible!” 

“It’s like … when I saw my mom, something just snapped and I couldn’t control it, I just knew that I had to get her away from that memorial. But then … the anger just kept increasing. But now … now I feel … okay?” Tyler said confusingly.

Josh plopped down so that he was sitting, no longer crouching. “You let it out.”

Tyler nodded. “At least we know what happens now when I get angry.”

Josh nodded, suddenly very tired. “Dude … you moved the wind.”

Tyler stared at the ground distantly. “I know.”

They were silent for a moment, and then Tyler had a hint of a smirk on his face. “That was sick.”

Josh stared at him, a little wary. “I mean … yeah, yeah it was.”

Tyler shook his head in disbelief. “I mean, it was weird, and I felt really angry, like, the most angry I’ve ever felt, but … when I started screaming, it felt good?”

“Let’s hope that’s not a bad thing.” Josh said, running a hand through his hair.

Tyler was then looking at him. “It would have been worse if you weren’t here.”

Josh cocked his head to the side. He felt like he was useless.

“At the graveyard, when I was squeezing your hand,” Tyler said. “It was anchoring me, keeping me there.”

Josh rubbed at his hand, remembering Tyler’s tight grip. “Well, you’re welcome.” He smiled.

Tyler smiled, and then he was standing up. “Let’s get out of here.”

-

When they got back to the apartment, Josh suddenly felt like he had aged twenty years. What happened at the graveyard and in the forest wasn’t possible. Yet, it happened. Tyler went for a shower so Josh had some time to sit on the couch and stare at the wall, mind reeling. Everything he had ever thought to be impossible suddenly came into question. Vampires? Maybe. Werewolves? Probably. Hogwarts? Hell, who knows.

One thing was for certain, and that was that the serum had done something to Tyler, something far bigger than Josh had predicted.

But why? It keeps coming back to this question. Why? Why did they give him this serum? What were their future plans with Tyler? What was the purpose in all of this?

And what about Tyler’s mom? Josh didn’t like how she was acting at the graveyard. Well, he never liked how she was acting, but it was different today. She wanted to see Tyler blow up. She wanted-

His thoughts were interrupted by a large thud in the other room. Josh was up in an instant, running into the bedroom.

He found Tyler standing there in shock, hands violently shaking as he stared at the side table that is usually beside the bed, knocked over onto the ground. He was staring distantly as if he was miles away.

“Tyler?” Josh asked, standing in front of him.

Nothing. Josh grabbed onto his hands, trying to stop the shaking. “Tyler? Hey, come back to me.”

Josh put a soft hand under Tyler’s chin, and then Tyler was looking into Josh’s eyes. He was terrified.

“B-blurryface.” Is all he said.

“What?” Josh asked, rubbing a thumb across his jaw softly.

“Blurryface. That’s the name of the serum that they gave me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends
> 
> so ... a lot happened in this chapter
> 
> i hope that's okay??? i got fed up trying to think of ways to make /less/ happen so i just thought "ah, what the hell" and posted it
> 
> and here we are!
> 
> happy reading :)
> 
> tumblr: anotherbooknerd


	6. tear in my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When the rain is blowing in your face,  
> And the whole world is on your case,  
> I could offer you a warm embrace  
> To make you feel my love."
> 
> ~ Bob Dylan

“Blurryface. Blurryyyyyface? Blurry-face. A face that is blurry. Blurry faces.”

“Josh-”

“Maybe it’s like an anagram? Or an abbreviation!”

“I don’t-”

“Blurryface. Faceblurry. Dude, I got nothing.”  


“That makes two of us.”

The two were sprawled, literally sprawled out on the floor in the living room where they had sat as Tyler played the keyboard the other night. Tyler’s feet were beside Josh’s head, and Josh’s feet were beside Tyler’s head as they were laid out in opposing directions, staring at the ceiling.

After Tyler’s “vision” or, whatever it was, Tyler and Josh had paced around for a bit, completely confused before deciding to lay on the ground. Still completely confused.

“The name just appeared in my head, almost like a whisper,” Tyler told him. “It’s hard to explain. I just suddenly knew that that was the name of the serum.”

Josh scratched his head. “So you’re starting to remember more?”

“Eh, I don’t know if that’s it.” Tyler exhaled. “I feel like information is being placed into my head … fuck that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Dude, you pushed air and your eyes turned red, none of this makes sense.”

They were silent for a long moment, both lost in their thoughts.

“What now, Josh?” Tyler suddenly sounded very, very small.

Josh had zero clue. They couldn’t tell anyone, not without making the situation worse. Karen was already probably very, very confused, but she wasn’t going to tell anyone. Tyler and Josh both knew her, and they knew that anything that involved associating herself with them would be damaging to her image. Also, telling people that you were pushed by air wasn’t convincing.

So, what now indeed.

“I guess we just … keep an eye on the situation.” Josh said. “How are you feeling?”

Tyler was quiet for a moment. “I feel … okay. Like, I feel normal.”

“That’s good,” Josh said. “Normal is good.”

Tyler sighed. “Yeah but, for how long?”

“That’s why we’re gonna keep an eye on you, dork.” Josh tried to lighten the mood.

“Hey, I’m not the dork,” Tyler sat up so that he was resting on his forearms, staring down at Josh. “You’re the one that made me watch all six Star Wars movies with you when you were sick with the flu that time.”  


Josh sat up as well, copying his position. “Yeah? And you’re the one that has three different versions of Hermione’s wand wrapped up in mint condition.”

“That’s not being a dork, that’s called being sensible.” Tyler was smiling, his eyes crinkling. It was the biggest smile Josh had seen on him in awhile.

“Whatever you say,” Josh laid back down, putting his arms behind his head. “... dork.”

Tyler fake gasped. Josh was about to sit back up to look at him when hands were suddenly tickling his armpits, and then he let out a very unattractive squeal. Tyler’s hands were all over his body, tickling his worst spots as they both laughed uncontrollably. 

After a few minutes Tyler laid back down, still laughing, this time with his head beside Josh’s as they both struggled for breath.

“That … was cruel.” Josh breathed heavy.

“That … was payback.” Tyler grinned.

Josh felt light. Happy. Which was odd, he knew it, because his life was beyond fucked at the moment. His boyfriend had some sort of superpower given to him by some sort of fucked up individuals, and they had absolutely zero clue as to what to do about it.

But Tyler was here. Beside him. And he was smiling. His eyes were bright. He looked happy. He looked … like Tyler. Tyler, the boy that he had been in love with since he was five. Tyler, the boy who knew him better than anyone on this planet. Tyler.

He smiled up at the ceiling, wanting to enjoy this moment. He also wanted to reach beside him and pull Tyler in for a kiss, but he was still holding out on anything too intimate. It didn’t matter how good of a day Tyler was having, he wasn’t going to do anything until Tyler was ready.

His phone was then buzzing in his pocket, so he groaned as he reached in and pulled it out. Brendon’s name was flashing on the screen. Tyler was watching him.

Josh sat up and hit answer. “Hello?”

“Josh! Buddy, old pal, how are you?” Brendon’s chipper voice rang through.

“Good, actually, how are you?” Josh asked. Tyler sat up beside him, stretching.

“I’m grand. Listen, I wanted to invite you to this party I’m having tonight.” Brendon asked him.

Josh scrunched his eyebrows together. “Dude, did you forget that I’m kind of in the middle of-”

“Yeah yeah, I figured you’d bring up Tyler, he’s invited too!”

Josh slapped himself on the forehead. “Wow, yes, brilliant idea Brendon, I’m sure that would be great for him right now! Wow why didn’t I think of that?” 

Tyler was looking at him confusingly. 

“Oh c’mon,” Brendon groaned. “Look, I know he’s kinda nervous around people and yada yada yada, but you guys have been stuck inside that apartment for days! Don’t you think a little air would be good? For BOTH of you?”

“Brendon-”

“Just think about it,” He continued. “It’s not even that big of a party.”

“That’s what you said last time.” Josh shook his head even though Brendon couldn’t see him.

“I’m serious this time! Ryan got promoted at work so we just invited a few friends to celebrate. There will be boos, probably no drugs but don’t quote me on that, and we got a backyard so if you want to step away from everyone, you can!”

Josh sighed. “Thanks for the offer man, but-”

“Like I said, just think about it and call me back, but I gotta go, I’ll call you soon!”

And then he hung up. Josh shook his head again and threw the phone back in his pocket.

“What did Brendon want?” Tyler asked him.

“To invite us to a party,” Josh snorted. “Imagine that.”

Tyler cocked his head at him. “And you said no?”

“I sure tried.” Josh smiled lightly.

Tyler stared at him. “I … I think we should go.”

Josh stared back, taken aback. “Wait, you do?’

Tyler looked down at his hands. “I mean, I don’t know how social I’ll be, but, we can’t stay in here forever, Josh.”

Josh slowly brought his hand forward and cupped it under Tyler’s chin so that he could stare into his eyes. Tyler’s looked sheepish.

“Hey, we only go if you’re comfortable with it.” Josh reassured him.

Tyler smiled slightly. “I’m comfortable as long as you’re with me.”

“Well, alright then.”

Josh took his phone back out to text Brendon. He was a little nervous about going considering Tyler could barely talk to his Aunt Eli a few days ago, but he also knew that this was a big step for Tyler. Tyler was the one initiating it, Tyler was the one saying he wanted to go. Josh couldn’t turn that down. All he could do was make this as easy as possible for Tyler.

 **Josh:** we’ll be there

 **Brendon:** HALLELUJAH

-

They were parked out front of Brendon and Ryan’s house and Tyler hadn’t moved from his seat. Josh didn’t want to push him.

“We don’t have to do this,” Josh told him.

Tyler was staring forward, and then he was pulling down the mirror to look at his reflection.

“Do I look okay?” Tyler asked.

Josh was about to make a joke about how he always looks hot as hell, but then he noticed that Tyler was eyeing the fading black eye, as well as the faint bruises on his neck and the tiny scars along his nose and cheek. Josh’s heart ached.

“Hey, you look great, don’t worry about that stuff.” Josh tried to comfort him.

Tyler closed his eyes for a second, let out an exhale, and then he was taking off his seatbelt.

“Alright,” Tyler smiled. “Let’s do this.”

Josh had never felt more proud of him than in this moment.

Tyler had always been strong mentally, it was one of the things that Josh admired most about him. Tyler had his demons, that was evident in the songs he used to write, but Tyler fought them. He fought and he fought and he fought and he survived. And now he was here, fighting once more. 

They walked up to the house together, stopping in front of the door. Faint music could already be heard. Josh took one last glance at Tyler before ringing the doorbell and knocking for good measure.

A few moments later and the door swung open to Ryan, Brendon’s boyfriend, standing there with a beer in hand.

“Josh! Tyler!” He invited them in. “Brendon told me you guys were coming, come in come in!”

Josh said hi to them and Tyler nodded, and then Brendon was crushing Josh in a hug.

“Long time no see buddy!” He pulled away and smiled at Tyler. “I’m so happy you two are here. We got beer over there, pop over there if you’re feeling it, some chips, you know the deal. Make yourself at home!”

Loud music was playing all throughout the house, and there were a lot of people. More than Brendon had made out to be, but Josh had expected that. Josh was relieved to see that no one was going nuts, yet, everyone was just hanging around and talking while others were dancing. Josh let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Brendon and Ryan were already drifting back towards the alcohol, so Tyler and Josh were left to make their way through the crowd. Tyler looked okay for the moment, his eyes a little weary but other than that his shoulders were calm. 

That’s when Josh noticed that people were being sneaky with their looks. Josh could tell that they were interested in Tyler, most likely seeing him on the news, but they weren’t being rude about it. They would look, and then quickly look away. Josh assumed Brendon had something to do with that, probably sending out a warning not to make Tyler uncomfortable. Josh smiled to himself.

Tyler grabbed a Coke from the cooler, so Josh did as well. He assumed Tyler wouldn’t be up to drinking, so he wouldn’t either. Josh led them over to a clear spot near the wall where he leaned against it, opening his pop.

“All good?” Josh asked Tyler, giving him a reassuring smile.

Tyler smiled back, nodding.

They got away with standing by themselves for a few minutes before they had company. Josh didn’t recognize him, but he clearly already had a few drinks in him.

“Heyyyyy, you’re Tyler Joseph!” He said, grinning at them.

Josh felt his protective side take over, getting ready to say something, but then Tyler was speaking.

“Yeah …” He said, fidgeting. “That’s me.”

“Dude, you’re like, really awesome!” The guy said.

Tyler scratched the back of his head. “Um, thanks?”

The guy nodded, still grinning wide. “No problem! You’re like-”

“Hey, Brad buddy, maybe slow it down a bit, yeah?” Brendon suddenly appeared, slapping “Brad” on the back.

“I’m having fun!” He slurred.

“That’s great, yeah, but you won’t be when you have alcohol poisoning,” Brendon laughed. “You met Tyler?”

Tyler was playing with his hands, a sign he was nervous, so Josh placed a comforting hand on the small of his back. Tyler smiled weakly up at him.

“Yeah! He’s awesome!” Brad said drunkenly.

“He sure is,” Brendon smiled. “Go get yourself some water, eh bud?” 

Brad nodded before swaying and walking into the kitchen. Brendon grinned at them.

“You guys good?” He asked. 

Josh and Tyler nodded. “Yeah man, thanks.” Josh told him

“Anyone bothers you then you let me know!” Brendon told them before walking backwards to join his other friends.

“Wanna step out back?” Josh asked Tyler.

Tyler nodded, so Josh led them both to the backyard.

It was a nice night, a little cool but nothing uncomfortable. They stood against the brick wall, and Tyler exhaled. 

“That was … that was okay. A little much, but I don’t feel panicky or anything, which I was expecting.” Tyler smiled slightly, looking proud of himself.

Josh laughed. “That makes me happy.”

Tyler looked at him, still smiling. “Brendon’s a good guy.”

“Yeah,” Josh nodded. “Yeah he is.”

“But no offence, I can see why he moved out so willingly.” Tyler chuckled. “This place is _nice._ ”

Josh faked surprise. “Are you insulting our apartment?”

Tyler giggled. Actually giggled, and Josh felt his heart leap. “Oh c’mon! Our apartment is nice, but this is a house! An actual house, dude, what does Ryan do that he can afford this place?”

“That’s … damn, that’s a good question.” Josh said, wondering.

Tyler was suddenly laughing. “You never thought to ask? Wow Josh, wow.”

Josh joined him in laughing. “Well, I love our apartment.”

“You just love calling it OUR apartment.” Tyler teased.

“Well … yeah, yeah I do.” Josh was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt and he knew his eyes were crinkling.

They stood there for a moment in a comfortable silence. Josh sighed happily, enjoying the feel of the light wind on his face. And then he heard the song switch.

“Ty … do you hear that?” He asked, turning to him.

Tyler listened, and then he was nodding. “Make You Feel My Love.”

This song always reminded Josh of Tyler, as corny as it sounds. Josh didn’t know why it was on Brendon’s playlist, but he didn’t care. His heart suddenly felt heavy.

Josh pushed out against the wall and cleared his throat, offering his hand to Tyler formally.

“Excuse me sir, may I have this dance?” He asked.

Tyler laughed, but grabbed his hand. “You may.”

Josh led him back inside where a few other couples were slow dancing. Josh led them over to the less crowded side and turned to Tyler.

Josh held one of Tyler’s hands and rested the other on the small of his back, pulling him in. Tyler placed his other hand on Josh’s back, smiling shyly. 

Josh didn’t want to touch him in anyway that wasn’t comfortable, so he looked Tyler in the eye.

“Is this okay?” Josh asked, pulling him a little closer and starting to sway.

Tyler was staring at him, his smile no longer there. Josh couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“What?” Josh asked.

“Why … never mind.” Tyler wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“What is it, Ty?” Josh asked, concerned.

“Why haven’t you…” Tyler bit his lip. “Why haven’t you kissed me since … since I came back? Did I- Is it because- I-” He stuttered, cutting himself off.

“I, I didn’t think-” Now Josh was stuttering. He took a deep breath. “Tyler, I wasn’t sure if you were… ready for that yet.”

“What?” Tyler asked, looking at him again.

“You were really vulnerable when you came back Ty,” Josh said softly. “God, how much of a shit would I be if I took advantage of that and just started, like, kissing you when you weren’t ready?”

Tyler was staring at him, his eyes sad but also deep in thought. Josh felt like he was looking right into his soul as the song switched to the next verse. 

_"I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue, I'd go crawling down the avenue. No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do, To make you feel my love."_

“Tyler?” Josh asked, not knowing what to say. “Hey, I’m sorry if I-”

“I love you.” Tyler told him, expression not changing.

Josh was taken aback, not expecting that at this moment.

“You- you, oh, wow, I-” Josh began.

There were tears in Tyler’s eyes. “God, Josh, I love you so much, you don’t understand I- when I was, when I was back there, you’re all I thought about. If you were eating, if you were happy, I didn’t care about what was going on with me, I just, I needed to know if you were okay- I needed you Josh.”

The tears were falling down his face now, and Josh felt his eyes eyes start filling up as well.

“Josh they- they told me you were dead.”

Josh’s heart stopped. “They what?”

Tyler sniffed. “I wouldn’t stop asking about you, and I guess it annoyed them, so they told me you were dead. And when I got back here, and Eli told me you were coming to see me, I didn’t- I didn’t know how to react, Josh, there is no explaining what that feels like. To think someone is dead, to grieve them, and then find out they’re alive.”

Josh was crying now. He didn’t care if people around them were staring, even though they were all probably too drunk to notice.

This explains why Tyler was really only comfortable talking to him, why he asked Josh to just talk while Tyler listened during their first meeting since Tyler came back, why Tyler was so willing to move in with Josh so abruptly. Tyler had believed Josh to be dead.

Tyler was silent then, rubbing his cheeks on his shoulder.

“I know what it feels like,” Josh said through tears. “It came to a point, Ty, where I had to, God, I had to come to terms with the fact that you were probably- that you probably weren’t coming back to me.”

Josh hiccuped. This wasn’t easy to get out. All of those dark years coming back to him.

“I didn’t accept it for the longest time. I just kept telling myself that you were coming back. But … but it came to a point, where it had been so long, and I was so, I wasn’t healthy, Tyler. And I knew you would want me to be. So, well, I didn’t move on, but I had to tell myself that you were gone. And I-”

He cut himself off, he was going to start sobbing if he kept speaking.

And then Tyler was pressing his lips to Josh’s, and Josh was falling. Everything disappeared in that moment, as cliche as it sounds. Josh reached his hand up to hold Tyler’s head against his, and he could hear faint cheers from around the room, but they didn’t exist. The only thing, the only energy that existed in that moment was Tyler. They were both crying, tears on cheeks mixing together, years of emotions piling into one kiss. Josh felt happy and sad and everything all at once and it was the strongest most insane thing he had ever felt.

_"Nothing that I wouldn't do. Go to the ends of the Earth for you, To make you feel my love."_

“I love you Tyler,” Josh said between breaths.

“I love you, so much.” Tyler said back.

Josh rested his forehead against Tyler’s, shutting his eyes.

And then they were hugging. The tightest hug Josh had ever had, Tyler’s arms practically suffocating him but Josh wouldn’t have it any other way. Josh hugged him just as tightly back, because he was here, Tyler was here.

Because Josh would never stop thanking the God he believed in that Tyler had returned to him. Nothing else mattered, not the serum or the bruises or Karen Joseph, nothing. A few weeks ago he had believed Tyler to be dead, and apparently, Tyler had believed Josh to be dead too. But now here they are. On a homemade dance floor at their insane friend’s house in the middle of Ohio. Together.

Josh squeezed tighter.

“You can’t leave me again,” Josh whispered.

“I won’t.” Tyler told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao you guys
> 
> i gotta admit something to you
> 
> are you ready
> 
> this was supposed to be an angst-free chapter
> 
> i was like wow you know what i gave them hell last chapter so imma just give them a nice lil happy chapter with fluff and a cute dance and a lil kiss and call it a day
> 
> but nope
> 
> i’m like an angst magnet okay? all of a sudden i started thinking about how these two both thought they would never see each other again and like shit, that hurts, and then the angst just came to me and well this what you got
> 
> also: listen to the song make you feel my love while reading the dance scene to increase emotions
> 
> ONE MORE THING: this fic almost has the amount of hits that equals the amount of days tyler was in captivity oK BYE
> 
> HAPPY READING
> 
> tumblr: anotherbooknerd


	7. be concerned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your head hurt?” He asked.
> 
> Tyler looked like he was about to say no, but thought better. “Only a little.”
> 
> “Okay, well, let’s get some breakfast and see if that helps.” Josh was about to move to get up when Tyler was placing a hand on the back of his head, turning him so that their faces were inches away.
> 
> “One thing first,” Tyler smiled slightly, and then he was kissing him.

Josh awoke the morning after the party to Tyler whimpering quietly beside him. Josh frowned before realizing that Tyler was in the midst of another nightmare. This was a regular occurrence, but it never made Josh feel any less upset.

“Tyler, hey, wake up,” Josh spoke lightly, sitting up. He knew now not to touch Tyler when he was like this.

Tyler stopped whimpering, but he didn’t wake up. His face was scrunched together in pain, and Josh’s heart ached.

“Hey, it’s not real, it’s Josh, wake up Ty,” Josh wanted to grab him and shake him out of it, but he knew Tyler would mistake him for his captors.

Tyler’s eyes were suddenly flying open and he was sitting up, looking around in fright when his eyes came to lay on Josh’s. After a moment of confusion, he exhaled and buried his face in his hands.

Josh put an arm around Tyler now that he was awake. “Shhh, it wasn’t real.”

Tyler was quiet, still coming out of it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Josh asked, mentally crossing his fingers that Tyler would say yes.

“No.” Tyler whispered. 

Josh sighed. “It’s not good to keep this stuff bottled up.”

Tyler was quiet, he lifted his head and then buried his face in the crook of Josh’s neck.

“I know but-” Tyler stuttered. “Okay.”

Tyler stayed in that position and began to speak quietly.

“In this one, I was back in the room they kept me in.” He said. “Except I was laying on the bed, and I couldn’t move. And then the door opened, and someone walked in. I couldn’t see their face, but their eyes were red, like mine were back at the graveyard and the forest. Their neck and hands were black, and they weren’t really walking towards me, it was more like they were … floating. I don’t know. They were approaching me, except I was still frozen on the bed. Their voice … it was really deep.”

Tyler was speaking quieter and quieter with each sentence. Josh ran a hand up and down his arm soothingly.

“They kept coming closer, and then they floated right … inside of me. And then I felt pain. And then I woke up.” Tyler finished, exhaling shakily.

Josh was quiet, not really knowing what to say. He decided to place a light finger under Tyler’s chin and lift his head up so that he could meet his eyes.

“It’s good you told me Ty, I mean I’m not an expert, but I think it helps to share your nightmares. It makes it less likely you’ll have that one again.” Josh tried for a light smile.

Tyler nodded, reaching a hand up to rub his own head. Josh frowned.

“Your head hurt?” He asked.

Tyler looked like he was about to say no, but thought better. “Only a little.”

“Okay, well, let’s get some breakfast and see if that helps.” Josh was about to move to get up when Tyler was placing a hand on the back of his head, turning him so that their faces were inches away.

“One thing first,” Tyler smiled slightly, and then he was kissing him.

Josh smiled into the kiss, heart leaping. He reached his own hand up to lightly grab the back of Tyler’s neck, and then they were kissing for a solid minute.

“Okay okay,” Tyler pulled away, cheeks red. “Go make me some breakfast.” He said jokingly.

Josh laughed as he hopped off the bed, pulling on his shirt and walking with a spring in his step to the kitchen. He couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face as he felt the ghost of Tyler’s lips on his. He sighed happily as he rummaged through the kitchen and looked for food to make. After many moments of intense decision making, he grabbed the many amounts of cereal from the top shelf and laid them out on the table.

Tyler walked out of the bedroom a few minutes later wearing Josh’s hoodie and sweatpants, and Josh lost his words for a moment. He looked insanely cute with his hair sticking up in tufts on his head, sleepy eyes and the hoodie slightly big for him. Josh looked back at the cereal, and spread his arms out as if he was a host on a food show.

“And here Mr. Joseph, I give you, breakfast!” He said in his best talk-show host voice. Tyler laughed, inspecting the cereal carefully.

“My my, you have out done yourself,” Tyler said. “Are we having a cereal party?”

“I guess we are,” Josh grinned, picking up the Captain Crunch and grabbing his bowl, pouring it in. Tyler did the same but with the Cookie Crisp. 

They brought their bowls over to the couch and ate accordingly, going back to the kitchen for seconds. And then thirds. And maybe even fourths.

They had a lazy day. They watched whatever movies were on TV, which ranged from romantic comedies to action dramas. No horror though, Tyler made a point to tell Josh that he didn’t want any horror. Josh knew the reason, considering Tyler’s past 3 years have been a horror, so he just nodded and put on some good-ole comedy.  


Tyler kept rubbing his head, and Josh knew that his headache was getting worse throughout the day. At one point he grabbed an Advil from the kitchen and gave it to Tyler, and Tyler took it without saying a word. 

It was around 7pm when Josh knew that this wasn’t going away. Tyler was sitting crossed legged, his head in his hands, desperately rubbing at his temples. Josh moved so that his hand was resting on Tyler’s back, trying to soothe him. He felt helpless.

“Maybe we should take you to the doctor Ty, the emergency room, I don’t know, somewhere-” 

“No no no no,” Tyler muttered. “They won’t-they won’t get it, I, shit Josh this doesn’t feel good.” Tyler was starting to panic.

“I know Ty, what can I do?” Josh asked, trying to calm himself.

“I don’t know Josh, it feels…” He groaned. “Different.”

Josh suddenly remembered the last time Tyler said this was different.

“Do you think this is the serum again?” Josh asked, realizing this wasn’t just a normal headache. 

Tyler was letting out another loud groan. “Yes.” He was harshly rubbing his head now. Josh reached up to grab his hands, stopping Tyler from hurting himself even more.

“Maybe- maybe we could go to the forest again?” Josh tried. “Maybe let it out there?”

Tyler shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “No, there’s no time, fuck Josh, it’s pounding!”

Tyler was squeezing Josh’s hoodie in his hands, his grip as tight as possible. Josh was seconds away from calling someone, anyone, when Tyler was standing up and walking over to the wall, pushing his head against it. Josh got up and stood a distance away from him, wanting to give him space.

“I just- I just want to _hit_ something,” He spoke, gripping his hair and starting to walk around the room with his eyes squeezed shut.

Nope, Josh did not want Tyler hitting anything. They didn’t know the lengths of his strength, what with him breaking out of the van he was kept in and punching the wall at Eli’s house.

Josh had never felt more helpless in his life. He genuinely did not know what the fuck to do. They couldn’t call anyone because this was different, this was something out of this world, they had no one else that knew of Tyler’s situation … Josh had no idea what to do.

“Maybe, maybe we could just-” He began, but then Tyler was crouching, his hands still gripping his hair, his eyes still squeezed shut, but his mouth was open, as if he was about to scream.

Josh knew that wouldn’t go well considering they live in an apartment.

But then Josh noticed Tyler’s hands. 

They were black. 

Black like the night sky.

Josh’s eyes trailed up to Tyler's neck. It was also black.

And then Tyler took in a breath, and Josh cringed, preparing himself for the scream, but something different happened.

The lights went out, and so did the power in the entire room. Josh could hear a piercing in his ear, but it was more like the sound you hear after a loud explosion. But there was no explosion, just no lights.

And then the fire alarm was going off and Josh realized that it wasn’t just their room that lost power, it was the entire building.

Josh reached his hands forward and slowly walked forward, trying to find Tyler. 

“Tyler?” He asked.

“I-I’m right here,” Came Tyler’s voice.

Josh felt him, so he crouched down as well, squinting to try and see his face. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, cupping his face in his hands.

Tyler hesitated. “Yes … my head, it, it feels fine again.”

Josh let out a sigh of relief, but he also knew that the serum had once again done something to Tyler.

“Josh, the alarm,” He said. “We have to follow everyone else outside.”

“Oh, shit, yeah, let’s go.” Josh said, standing up and bringing Tyler with him. He grabbed his phone and turned the flashlight on, shining it at Tyler.

“Your hands…” Josh said, noticing that they were still black. “Shit, your neck too.”

Tyler looked down at his hands, his eyes widening. “Shit shit shit shit...”

“Here, just cover them with your hoodie, and- and put the hood up to cover your neck more.” Josh helped him out.

“Okay okay okay, we’ll focus on this after, we gotta go.” Tyler told him, grabbing his hand and opening the door.

They were met with everyone else in the apartment walking quickly outside, flashlights blearing. Josh kept Tyler close to him as they followed everyone out of the doors.

They were all told to stand in a cluster safely away from the building as they inspected the situation, the alarm still going off loudly. Tyler huddled against Josh, the black covered by the hoodie. A man was soon approaching them, a house coat and slippers the only thing covering his body.

“Do you guys know what happened?” He asked, looking around confusingly.

Josh then recognized this guy as Mark, their neighbour. The guy did some work with filming and editing, and Josh had only talked to him a few times.

Josh shook his head. “Nah,” He lied. “Probably a false alarm.”

Mark nodded, looking between Josh and his eyes landing on Tyler. “Oh hey, I don’t think we’ve met,” He offered his hand forward. “I’m Mark.”

Tyler looked at his hand like it was suddenly very interesting. He didn’t move, knowing that if he shook his hand the black would show.

“Tyler.” He tried for a smile, hands staying hidden. “I, uh, don’t like shaking hands …” He coughed awkwardly. “Germaphobe.”

Mark lowered his hand, seemingly unbothered. “Ah, I get it. My mom is like that.”

Josh let out a breath. Phew, dodged a bullet. Nice one Tyler.

“So where are you staying?” Mark asked Tyler.

“Oh, with him,” Tyler nodded towards Josh, who smiled. “I moved in around a week ago.”

“Oh sweet!” Mark nodded. “What happened to Brendon?” Mark turned to Josh.

“Ah, he finally had the balls to move in with his boyfriend,” Josh chuckled, enjoying the conversation to distract himself from what happened inside. “So now I’m stuck with this guy.” He smiled cheekily at Tyler.

“Oh cool, so you guys are like, together together?” Mark asked.

Tyler was blushing, eyes looking at the ground. Josh nodded, also smiling.

“Yeah we are,” Josh felt his own face getting hot. It felt nice to say that.

“That’s cool, I live alone,” He said. “You guys should join me for a beer some time, keep me from being lonely.”

Josh nodded, and so did Tyler. Josh felt good seeing Tyler interacting more easily. “Yeah man, that sounds awesome.”

They were about to keep talking when someone came to tell them that it was indeed a false alarm and they could all go back inside. Josh sighed, relieved to know that Tyler hadn’t damaged any of the power permanently. Not that anyone would know it was him, anyway.

They said goodbye to Mark and retreated back inside to their apartment.

Tyler immediately took his hands out of the sleeves to check them when the door was shut. He stood staring at them, the black completely gone.

“Thank god.” He muttered, checking his neck in the nearby mirror. 

“Yeah, would of sucked if you had to explain that tattoo to your mom.” Josh joked, and then cringed at himself. “Shit, sorry.”

Tyler just waved him off, sitting on the couch. Josh sat beside him. “What even happened?”

Tyler shook his head. “Almost exactly what happened last time except …” Tyler cut himself off.

“What?” Josh asked.

Tyler looked at him, his eyes concerned. “I felt like I was going to _explode_ and then- and then…”

Josh kept quiet this time, letting Tyler speak at his own pace.

“Josh, my hands went black, and my neck…” He spoke quietly. “Like that _thing_ in my dream.

Josh had completely forgotten about that in the midst of the moment. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Tyler ran a hand through his hair. “And… and something else.”

Josh wouldn’t take his eyes away from his face. He reached forward and held his hand for support.

“A deep voice spoke to me. You know how I said the serum is called Blurryface?” Tyler said. “Josh, I think … I think this thing inside of me, whatever it is, it calls itself Blurryface.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love mark. we're gonna be seeing a lot more of him in this fic!
> 
> also i totally used josh's snapchat of tyler & josh having a cereal party as inspiration
> 
> your comments/kudos mean the absolute world to me, i'm still in shock every day that people are actually reading this thing. so thank you!
> 
> this one was a little shorter then the others, mostly bc i have big plans for the next chapter mwahaha
> 
> happy reading friends!


	8. my name's blurryface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler looked up at him. “I don’t want to control it, Josh, that’s not the point.” Tyler let go of Josh’s hand. 
> 
> “What?” Josh asked. He thought he saw a twitch of anger in Tyler’s eyes.
> 
> “I want it gone. I don’t want any part of this inside of me …” Tyler ran a hand through his hair, agitated. “I don’t want to 'control' Blurryface. I don’t want to 'control' any part of this, I don’t want any part of what those … those people did to me …” Tyler voice was shaking.

It had been a week since the fire alarm incident, a full week of no insane incidents.

Josh and Tyler took it easy. They had developed a steady routine of waking up, cuddling, eating breakfast, cuddling, going for walks, cuddling, watching movies, cuddling, anything to keep Tyler in a calm state of mind where he didn’t get sent over the edge.

This so called “Blurryface” kept quiet. Tyler sometimes squeezed his eyes tightly shut or woke up with a start, but he insisted to Josh that Blurryface hadn’t actually spoken to him since last time. Josh was relieved at this, but he knew that wasn’t the last they would see/hear of Blurryface. If anything, the silence made Josh more anxious.

Every morning Josh asked Tyler if his head was hurting, and every morning he held his breath waiting for the answer. Luckily, Tyler hadn’t had any headaches since the last incident, which was a relief considering the headaches were the only thing they didn’t know how to prevent as of right now. 

They knew that when Tyler gets angry, he freaks out. But the headaches? Those were the kicker. The last one just came on out of nowhere, and it worried the hell out of Josh that they didn’t know how to prevent them.

So they did what they could. Josh knew that he would have to go back to work eventually, he couldn’t stay away forever. Plus, they had an apartment to pay for. Josh told himself he would give himself a week or two more before he went back. He was dreading it. He was enjoying every moment he had with Tyler, the past week feeling like a blissful dream.

They had seen a bit of their new friend Mark as well. Josh had known him a little before they talked last week, but it wasn’t until this week that he actually considered Mark a friend. Tyler seemed to enjoy his company as well, which was a green light in Josh’s eyes. Mark would come over and play video games, sometimes they went out for breakfast together, etc. Mark currently worked at a store that sold cameras and video film, but he hoped to one day become a professional filmmaker/producer. 

He also seemed to have no idea that Tyler had been missing for the past 3 years. It never came up, and when Josh asked Tyler about it later one night Tyler just shook his head and said not to mention it unless it comes up. 

“It’s nice being around someone that I can pretend the past 3 years never happened with, you know?” Tyler had said.

Josh had nodded. That’s when he started trying harder to be more normal around Tyler. Not that he hadn’t already, but he knew he was being a little over protective. He tried to not ask Tyler if he was okay every two seconds, if he needed anything, etc. It was slowly killing him, but he didn’t want Tyler to feel suffocated around him either.

It wasn’t until the current morning that Mark found out. Josh was in the kitchen making himself a cup of coffee while Tyler kept sleeping when he heard a soft knock at the door.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he walked over to the door with his coffee and answered it.

“Oh! Hey Mark,” Josh greeted. 

Mark wasn’t smiling. He had a sad look in his eyes.

“Uh, is Tyler here?” He asked.

Josh nodded, cocking his head to the side. “He’s sleeping though, what’s up?”

Mark ran a hand through his hair. “I, well, I guess I just wasn’t expecting to turn on the news this morning and see Tyler’s face on the screen.”

Josh exhaled, not expecting to have this conversation so early in the morning. But then what Mark said clicked, and he felt worried. 

“Wait, what was the news saying?” He asked.

Mark just shook his head. “Just that they’re still searching for solid leads on the case, but, dude, 3 years?”

Josh held the door open wider. “Do you want to come in?”

Mark looked like he wanted to but then he shook his head. “I gotta get to work in a few minutes, but, man I-I didn’t know-”

Josh leaned against the door frame, looking him in the eye. “Dude, don’t worry about it. Tyler didn’t want to say anything.”

Mark looked confused. “Why?”

“He just wanted to hang around someone who wasn’t walking on pins and needles around him.”

Mark nodded, seeming to understand. “He’s, I mean, he’s doing really well, considering… I just thought he was a quiet guy, you know, a little reserved … I didn’t think…. Wow, 3 years.”

Josh nodded. “He’s strong.”

Mark smiled a little at that. “Yeah. Hey listen, you guys can come over tonight and hang out, we can play some Mario Kart and eat tacos, you know, have some fun.”

Josh smiled. “Yeah man, I’ll run it by Tyler and let you know.”

Mark nodded, stepping backwards. “Alright, I gotta head out but, text me!”

Josh said goodbye and shut the door. He stood standing there for a second, took a sip of his coffee, and then turned around to Tyler standing there, clearly having heard the full conversation. 

Tyler sighed. “It was fun while it lasted.”

Josh walked over to him and placed his hands on Tyler’s shoulders. “Hey c’mon, just because Mark knows doesn’t mean he’s going to suddenly start acting different.”

Tyler shook his head, avoiding Josh’s eyes. “He’s going to realize I’m a freak.”

Josh’s heart hurt. He looked Tyler in the eyes. “You’re not a freak.”

Tyler sighed and walked over to the couch, falling onto it. Josh poured Tyler a cup of tea and brought it over to him, and the two sat in a comfortable silence as they watched more Friends reruns. 

Josh’s eyes were on the TV, but his thoughts were a mile away. He loved the relaxed routine that him and Tyler had created for themselves, but the logical side of his brain knew that they couldn’t live like this forever. Tyler had been through hell and back, yes, and he deserved a break, but this couldn’t go on for the rest of his life. Tyler couldn’t live in fear of getting angry in public, or getting a headache that sets this “Blurryface” off. They had to figure something out, and it killed Josh that he didn’t have the answer.

They watched TV for a few hours, Tyler played piano a bit, Josh called Eli to give her an update on everything (but being sure to leave out the bits that tackled the Supernatural) and then they were back to watching more Friends. Josh was getting antsy, but then the sitcom knocked down a door in his minds that had him cocking his head to the side.

“We need to take control…” Josh thought aloud.

Tyler turned his head from the TV to look at Josh, confused. “Come again?”

Josh looked at him, and then he was clapping his hands together and turning so that he was sitting cross legged on the couch, facing Tyler.

“Rachel Green!” He exclaimed, pointing to the television. “She was about to marry someone she didn’t love, right?”

Tyler let out a chuckle. “Yes?”

“Okay! She was about to marry someone she didn’t love, live off of his money like she had been her whole life with her dad, but she knew in her gut it was wrong. Right?” Josh was staring wildly at Tyler.

Tyler was staring at Josh amusingly, a smile on his lips. “Yes, Josh, thank you for relaying the whole plot of the first episode for me.”

“No no, wait let me finish, she didn’t want to live like that!” Josh continued. “So she took control of the situation, of her life, and she left him at the alter!”

“Are you saying you want me to leave you at the alter?” Tyler joked.

“No, I’m saying that this situation we got going on here, let’s take control!” Josh told him.

Tyler’s smile started falling from his face, looking at Josh. “What are you talking about?”

Josh took his hand. “We need to find a way to control this… this Blurryface character, Blurryface along with your powers. If we can find a way for you to control it then, well, we wouldn’t have to be afraid of it anymore, you know?”

Josh wasn’t expecting Tyler to look so down at what he was saying. “I don’t, well, Josh I-” Tyler stuttered. 

“What’s wrong?” Josh asked.

Tyler looked up at him. “I don’t want to control it, Josh, that’s not the point.” Tyler let go of Josh’s hand. 

“What?” Josh asked. He thought he saw a twitch of anger in Tyler’s eyes.

“I want it gone. I don’t want any part of this inside of me …” Tyler ran a hand through his hair, agitated. “I don’t want to “control” Blurryface. I don’t want to “control” any part of this, I don’t want any part of what those … those people did to me …” Tyler voice was shaking.

“Tyler-”

“No I- I need a minute.” Tyler was standing up and walking over to the door.

“Tyler, don’t-don’t leave okay, I’m sorry-”

“It’s not you, I just, I need to breathe.” Tyler was then opening the door and walking out of the apartment in his sweatpants and socks, shutting the door behind him. 

Josh got up and grabbed the door handle, about to follow him out, when he thought better of it. Tyler just needed a moment, that’s all.

But then a moment became 20 minutes, and then forty five, and then it was over an hour and Josh was pulling on his shoes because his heart was beating a million times a minute and he felt sick to his stomach and-

Breathe. He had to breathe. God, he hadn't know what he had said would offend Tyler. If he did, he wouldn’t have said it. But he stood by what he said, they had to figure out a way to control this. If Josh could figure out a way to make this entire thing go away for Tyler, he would. But he didn’t know how. But to control this thing … that was a start. 

Josh was swinging the door open when Mark was standing there looking like he was just about to knock, and beside him was another person who-

Oh.

It was Tyler.

And he didn’t look great. He was doing that thing where he holds his head in his hands and grips his hair, looking like he’s going to explode.

“I found him outside leaning against the side of the building- dude, he’s freaking out-” Mark began, and Josh was already placing a light arm on Tyler’s shoulder and pulling him into the room. 

Mark followed.

“Ty, hey, it’s Josh, are you with me?” Josh asked him, sitting him down on the couch. Mark stood over at the side, watching worryingly.

“I’m tipping, he wants to take over- Josh…” Tyler was holding his head, eyes squeezed shut.

“Dude, his hands and neck …” Mark pointed out, eyes wide.

Well shit. Tyler’s hands and neck were black once again, and he was wearing a t shirt. And they had company to see this time. 

Oh no.

Josh couldn’t focus on Mark right now.

“Don’t let him Ty.” Josh told him, once again feeling helpless.

Tyler started groaning and tearing at his hair. “I-I can’t-”

“Yes you can!” Josh raised his voice, hoping to get through. “You can control it, it’s your body, don’t let him win.”

Tears were starting to spill out of Tyler’s shut eyes, and his black hands were shaking violently.

“Let me take over.” Tyler was suddenly saying, but the voice… it was calmer. 

“No!” Tyler shouted back at himself.

Shit, Josh thought. He’s talking to it.

Tyler was suddenly falling forward, off of the couch and onto the floor. He was gripping at the ground, head bowed, entire body shaking. 

“W-what can I do?” Mark was asking.

“Stay there.” Josh told him sternly. He didn’t want Mark getting hurt.

“Let me take over Tyler, it’ll be easier. The pain will stop.” Tyler (or Blurryface?) was saying.

“N-no… please leave me alone…” Tyler cried.

Josh kneeled on the ground a tiny distance away.

What was he supposed to do? He wanted to scream. He felt so helpless, so useless… Tyler was here writhing in pain and there was nothing he could do about it. 

He wracked his brain, trying to come up with a solution, anything, just ANYTHING that would help. He thought back to the forest. How Tyler had fallen to the ground screaming… but Blurryface didn’t take over that time? Tyler got angry, yes, but he was still Tyler… Blurry was non existent then. So what did he do?

He thought back to that day.

_“It would have been worse if you weren’t here.”_

_Josh cocked his head to the side. He felt like he was useless._

_“At the graveyard, when I was squeezing your hand,” Tyler said. “It was anchoring me, keeping me there.”_

Anchor. Josh was Tyler’s anchor.

Josh was suddenly moving forward, still on the ground but closer to Tyler. He took a breath, and then he was reaching forward and grabbing Tyler’s hand. 

“J-Josh-” Tyler was saying, still crouched and eyes squeezed shut.

“I know you can fight this Ty, I’m right here,” Josh said. “Feel me.”

“I don’t know if I can fight this Josh…” Tyler cried.

“I know you can.” Josh told him calmly.

Tyler writhed on the ground, and then he squeezed Josh’s hand so hard he winced, and then he was opening his mouth.

Tyler let out a scream, and Josh felt the air in the room move. Mark stumbled backwards, and Josh felt his hair blow backwards as if he was in a moving car with the windows rolled down. He felt an energy shift, he felt calmer.

He looked down at Tyler who was breathing heavily, his eyes opened now. He looked up at Josh and then his body gave out on him, he rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Josh was afraid to let go of his hand.

“He left.” Tyler said simply, bringing up his other hand to run it through his hair. 

“Well,” Josh said, eyes on him. “Good riddance.”

“For now,” Tyler said, looking in shock.

There was silence for a moment.

“Josh, you were right,” Tyler said, turning his head to look at him. “I need to control this. I don’t know how, or even where to start, but this-” He gestured around the room, referring to what just went down. “This can’t keep happening.”

Josh stared at the wall, nodding. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Always the optimist.” Tyler smiled slightly at him.

“Okay, well, I don’t mean to interrupt but…” A voice suddenly chimed in from the other side of the room.

Oh shit. Mark.

Both Tyler and Josh looked up from their little spot on the ground to look up at Mark.

“What … the fuck … was that?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends
> 
> i feel like this chapter is a little short so i'm probably going to update again either tomorrow or the next day, so, just a heads up!
> 
> happy reading :)


	9. fight it, take the pain ignite it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So get angry.” Mark shrugged.
> 
> Tyler shook his head. “I don’t want to do that.”
> 
> “What are you afraid of doing?” Mark asked. 
> 
> Tyler looked back and forth between them. “I’m afraid of… of him.”

“So …. Superpowers?” Mark asked.

The three of them were now standing around Tyler and Josh’s kitchen table, a list of events leading up to today drawn on a sheet of white paper lay in the middle. 

Mark had been very confused at first, not quite wrapping his head around how Tyler got like this. So, Josh had led him over to the table where he made a detailed list of everything starting from the day Tyler went missing to today. Now the three were standing on separate ends of the table, Tyler and Josh watching Mark wearily.

Josh nodded, saying “Yes,” at the same time that Tyler said “No.”

Josh raised an eyebrow at Tyler. Tyler sighed.

“I mean, kind of,” He said. “If you want to call having a weird demon-like creature inside of my head ‘superpowers’ then, well, go ahead.”

Mark stared at him, face still having that look of shock on it. “But, you can move the wind?”

Tyler shrugged. “Uh, kind of? I have before but I don’t know how I did it.”

Mark nodded, staring at the table. “So that’s why you were talking about control.”

Tyler and Josh nodded.

“Wow.” Mark said, exhaling shakily. “This is…”

Tyler looked like he was ready to run out of the room, as if he was scared of Mark’s reaction to him.

“So COOL!” Mark exclaimed, putting his hands on his head as he stared wide eyed at the table, then back at Tyler, then back at the table. He started pacing around the room.

“Dude, you’re like a superhero! I’m friends with a superhero, shit,” He went on, stopping to stand in front of Tyler. Tyler just stared at him. “You have more strength too, right? Like you said you punched right through a wall? Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit-”

“Dude, knock it down a level yeah?” Josh smirked at him.

“Shit sorry, I mean,” He looked back at Tyler. “The whole, uh, ‘Blurryface’ thing, that’s something we’re going to have to figure out but like, look at the positives! Moving wind, super strength? Who knows what else?”

Josh chuckled. “We?”

Mark looked at him. “What?”

“You said ‘we’.” Josh reiterated.

“Oh,” Mark said. “Uh, I mean, if you guys don’t want me involved that’s like, totally cool, I just thought maybe I could help, I don’t know, I have a camera that we could use for something I don’t know-”

Tyler shook his head. “No cameras.”

Mark nodded. “Okay, yeah, no cameras, but like I said, if you need me I mean-”

“We could probably use your help man, calm down, I know this is a lot to take in.” Josh said. 

Mark nodded, looking overwhelmed. “Phew, yeah it’s a bit much.” He sat down at one of the chairs. “But it’s still cool as shit.”

Josh was finding Mark’s enthusiasm quite refreshing. He had spent so much time lately worrying about everything, but seeing Mark so positive about the whole thing shined a new light on the situation. It also felt nice to not be carrying this burden on himself. He wasn’t sure how Tyler felt about it, but then he spoke up.

“Tomorrow… I think all three of us should head down to that clearing in the forest, you know the one?” Tyler directed the question at Josh.

Josh nodded.

“I want an open space to just, like, try some stuff you know? See how much control I really have.” Tyler looked down at his hands, shy.

“All three of u-” Mark looked up, excitedly, but then he visibly tried to look casual. “Yeah, no, I don’t work tomorrow so, sounds good.”

Josh nodded. “Alright well, it’s getting late so-”

“Yeah yeah, I’m gonna head out but, I’ll see you guys tomorrow?” Mark asked, getting the hint and getting up to grab his jacket.  


Tyler and Josh nodded.

“Alright cool, see you then!” He opened the door and left. And Tyler and Josh were left alone.

Tyler pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down, looking exhausted. Josh went to stand behind him and started lightly massaging Tyler’s shoulders.

“All good?” Josh asked him. 

Tyler nodded, quiet.

“Look, if you don’t want Mark to get involved you can just let me know and I’ll explain to him-” Josh began.

“No,” Tyler cut him off. “I like him, I think he can help us, you know? Shit, that feels good.” Tyler sighed, referring to the massage.

Josh kissed the top of his head, smiling. “We should probably sleep soon.”

Tyler nodded, standing up and stretching. Josh started to walk toward the bedroom when he felt a hand slip into his and pull him back. 

Tyler was smiling shyly at him before pulling him in for a kiss. Josh laughed, kissing him back. 

“I love you,” Tyler said into the kiss.

“I love you too, nerd.” Josh said back.

-

“Okay, here’s the problem, I have zero idea as to what I’m supposed to do.”

They were in the forest clearing, and Tyler was standing in the middle while Josh and Mark stood on either side of him a good distance away, watching and waiting in case they had to step in. They were all ready to go until Tyler stopped, confused.

“Uh, okay, maybe just try like, pushing the wind?” Josh offered.

“I’m going to look stupid.” Tyler frowned.

“It’s just us man, we won’t judge if you fail miserably,” Mark grinned.

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” Tyler said sarcastically.  


“You’re gonna do great, babe,” Josh tried acting like an encouraging boyfriend.

“When have you ever called me ‘babe’?” Tyler asked, turning to him.

Josh shrugged, laughing. “Today’s all about trying new things!”

Tyler shook his head, a small smile playing on his face. “Okay, fine, here goes nothing…” 

Josh braced himself as Tyler took a step forward, extending his arms and concentrating, and then he was pushing the air.

Except nothing happened.

“See? Embarrassing.” Tyler groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking at the sky.

“Okay, wait,” Mark began, stepping in. “The times you’ve pushed the wind, you were feeling angry, correct?”

Tyler nodded, turning to look at him.

“So get angry.” Mark shrugged.

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t want to do that.”

“What are you afraid of doing?” Mark asked. 

Tyler looked back and forth between them. “I’m afraid of… of _him._ ”

“Of wh-” Mark began.

“Of Blurry.” Josh finished for him.

“Oh.” Mark said.

They stood in silence for a second, and then Mark had an idea.

“Here are my thoughts,” Mark began. “If anything gets out of control, you have Josh here to calm you down right? That seemed to work before.”

Tyler caught Josh’s eye, and Josh smiled encouragingly. 

“This Blurryface character, he’s in your body. But your brain is still your brain. I think if you try hard enough, you can control him.” Mark said.  


“I really don’t want to get angry…” Tyler said, looking at his feet.

“Hey look, I think it’s the anger that brings Blurry out, right?” Josh stepped in.

Tyler nodded, looking up. 

“You gotta bring Blurry out to control him. You gotta use that energy, that anger, and tell him what to do. I feel like that’s the key to defeating him, you know?” Josh tried.

Mark was nodding. “Yeah!”

Tyler looked convinced, but then his expression changed. “Every time I’ve ‘defeated’ Blurryface though, something happened. The first time I practically tore the ground from it’s root, I moved the wind, then I turned all of the lights in the apartment building off… ”

“Okay, so that was you getting rid of him? Then use him this time. Tell him what to do.” Mark offered.

“Take control.” Josh joined.

Tyler still looked a little weary.

“Hey,” Josh said, walking over to him and placing his hand in his. “Remember when you gave the police the information they needed? When you talked to that FBI agent?”

Tyler was staring deep into his eyes, and then he nodded. 

“Do you remember what you told me?” Josh asked. “Why you wanted to talk to them?”

Tyler hesitated, and then realization hit his face. “I said I wanted to do it for those kids, the ones that don’t get to fight anymore.”

Josh nodded, smiling proudly. “So do this for them too.”

Josh was letting go of his hand and backing up, giving him space.

Tyler had a new look of determination on his eyes. He closed his eyes for a solid few minutes, just standing there and breathing. 

Josh and Mark stood, not moving an inch. Tyler’s face was calm, his cheek twitching every so often. Josh wondered what Tyler was thinking about to make himself feel anger. Josh snuck a glance at Mark, who looked back at him a little nervously. 

And then Josh saw Tyler’s hands and neck slowly turn black as if he had just dipped them in paint. Josh steadied his ground, preparing to step in if he had to.

“How you doing buddy?” Mark called.

Tyler’s eyes were still squeezed shut, his fists clenched. “I can feel him… He’s not happy.”

That didn’t make Josh feel any less nervous. He held his breath.

“He’s .... he doesn’t …. He doesn’t like that I summoned him myself…” Tyler spoke through gritted teeth.

“Good!” Mark called. “It’s your body, not his!”

Tyler was groaning. “W-what do I do?”

“Use it!” Josh called. “Feel his energy!”

Tyler’s eyes flew open, and they were red. Josh almost took a step back out of fear, but thought better of it. Mark wasn’t expecting that either.

“He’s fighting back!” Tyler yelled, eyes staring at the same tree. “He really doesn’t like this!”

“That’s good!” Mark yelled back. “Use the energy!”

And then Tyler was unclenching his fists and extending his arms sideways, and the air around them was picking up. 

“I-I’m doing it!” Tyler yelled, a small smile on his face. 

His eyes were less red.

Josh felt his heart leap in excitement. “Try directing the wind somewhere!” He yelled over the wind.

Tyler’s eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he used his arms to make the wind move together into a ball-like structure, and then he raised it in the air. He turned backwards away from Josh and Mark and flung it in the opposite direction, the trees moving as if they were hit by a hurricane. 

“I did it!” Tyler yelled, his eyes back to normal but his hands and neck still black.

Josh and Mark cheered, high fiving. 

“What now?” Tyler asked, turning back to them.

“Try-”

Before Josh could finished, Tyler was clenching his eyes shut and gripping his hair. 

“J-Josh-” Tyler stuttered. “Help-”

Josh was running forward and gripping Tyler’s shoulders. “What is it? What do you need?”

“My head- I- I don’t- Can we stop?”

“Okay okay, of course, grip my hands tightly,” He held Tyler’s hands.

And then Tyler was screaming.

The air around them moved as usual, the trees waving in the wind and the grass almost coming out of the root.

Tyler was breathing heavy, his neck and hands back to normal.

“I’m sorry-” Tyler began.

“No, Ty, that was-”

“AMAZING!” Mark ran forward, pulling them both into a tight hug. Tyler was smiling, looking proud of himself, while Josh laughed. “Dude, oh my god, and that was only a start! Imagine what you can do after more practice?!”

Tyler was smiling, a real, genuine smile. “Blurryface, he, well, he wasn’t happy about it, and I don’t really know how to explain it, but … something happened. I was just suddenly able to look him in the face and say ‘I’m doing this my way’ and he listened? Well, I don’t know if he listened, I felt like I was fighting for control, but I was winning…”

“Like tug of war,” Josh said, deep in thought.

“Exactly like tug of war.” Tyler nodded. “It got harder and harder to keep my end of the rope, but I feel like with more practice I’ll be able to hold on longer.”

Josh suddenly felt a wave of pride wash over him as he stared at his boyfriend. He grabbed the back of Tyler’s head and pulled him into a deep kiss, and he felt everything disappear as Tyler kissed back.

“I’m so proud of you,” Josh said, leaning his forehead against Tyler’s.

Tyler smiled sheepishly.

But then they were pulled away from their moment as they heard rustling in the bushes.

They pulled away, staring in the direction of the noise. 

“What the-” Mark began, squinting into the trees. “Who’s that woman?”

Josh followed his line of sight until he made eye contact with a single pair of devilish eyes, and then she was turning away and running.

“Karen…” Josh muttered, feeling fear in his chest. Tyler’s hand turned sweaty in his palm.

“Who’s Karen?” Mark asked, turning to them.

“Tyler’s mom.” Josh’s voice shook. “And I think she saw everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i said i would update today and i did! yay for me sticking to my word!
> 
> i hope you enjoy this chapter as much as i do :)
> 
> happy reading ~


	10. message man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dude, just tell us.” Josh said.
> 
> Mark wasn’t meeting their eyes. “Okay,” He coughed. “I, uh, I’ve been doing some illegal shit.”
> 
> Josh cocked his head at him. “What kind of illegal shit?”

“Okay,” Mark was saying. “That’s fucked up.”

They were back at Tyler and Josh’s apartment, and, after filling Mark in on the situation with Karen Joseph, Mark was left to sit on the kitchen counter looking flabbergasted. They had told him a bit before about Karen when they told him about Blurryface, but they had danced around the details. Now they were telling him everything.

“Here’s the thing,” Mark began. “I know this is a touchy subject and I don’t want to say anything that’s incorrect or anything but…” He looked at Tyler. “Look, she’s literally stalking you. That’s what’s sketchy to me.”

Tyler nodded as Josh rubbed a hand comfortably up and down his back as they both leaned against the kitchen counter. 

“When I moved in with my Aunt Eli I thought that she was done with me,” Tyler said. “Like, she didn’t bother to call me or check up on me or anything, which I was fine with. But now…”

“Now she’s following you, and she saw the stuff with Blurryface go down.” Josh finished for him. 

Shit.

Josh felt worried before when Tyler pushed her with air back at the graveyard, and he had hoped that she just wouldn’t say anything… but now she saw something even bigger than what it was before. 

Josh was still holding onto hope that Karen wouldn’t get involved because she wouldn’t want to associate herself with Tyler and Josh, but, that was seeming less and less likely.

Mark was staring off into space, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitating. Josh eyed him.

“Look… I need to tell you guys something.” He said, nervously running a hand through his hair.

Tyler was eyeing him now.

Mark sighed. “It’s… well, I trust you guys, even though I haven’t known you that long. And I mean, you guys trust me right? I mean, why else would you have told me everything you’ve told me?”

Josh and Tyler nodded. “Dude, just tell us.” Josh said.

Mark wasn’t meeting their eyes. “Okay,” He coughed. “I, uh, I’ve been doing some illegal shit.”

Josh cocked his head at him. “What kind of illegal shit?”

Mark stared down at his hands. “I’m really good with computers. I, uh, some would call me a genius? Look, I don’t mean to sound conceited! It’s just, well, I kind of am a genius? I can hack into pretty much anything and-”

“You’re a hacker?!” Josh asked, shocked.

“Yes! Well no,” Mark stuttered. “I mean, I can hack into things, I don’t do it often… only when like, really needed, but the point is I have the ability-”

“How good are you?” Tyler spoke up.

“Well, if I really wanted I could probably hack into the FBI’s database…”

Josh’s eyes widened.

“I’ve come close before! But then I got worried because I didn’t want to get arrested.” Mark continued nervously.

“Dude… that’s-” Josh began.  


“I know! I’m a terrible person but-” Mark stuttered.

“No!” Josh said. “I mean, it’s probably not the greatest habit to get into but hey, it could help our situation…” Josh thought.

“That’s what I was thinking!” Mark exclaimed. “Look, I think I’m able to dig some dirt up on Karen Joseph.”

Tyler looked at him, interested. “What kind of dirt?”

“I don’t know yet.” Mark said. “But, I can probably get into some files on her computer, see what she’s been up to, maybe check up on her work attendance, stuff like that.”

Tyler nodded, thinking. “She works as a grocery store clerk, if that helps.

Mark nodded. “It does. Okay so, like, as long as you guys don’t tell anyone-”

“No way man. You keep our secret and we’ll keep yours.” Josh told him.

Mark grinned. “Phew, okay, I’m excited. I’m gonna go get to work and I’ll call you guys if I find anything?”

He was already hopping off of the kitchen counter excitedly. Josh could tell this was something he was passionate about, as weird and illegal as it was.

Tyler and Josh walked him to the door, and then they were saying goodbye as he ran out of the apartment.

“Someone’s excited.” Tyler joked, shaking his head before going to grab himself a glass of water from the kitchen.

Josh chuckled as he went over to the kitchen table to grab his phone and check his messages. He had been abandoning his phone too much these days, constantly forgetting to text people back which, he knew, wasn’t a good thing to do considering the circumstances.

He sighed when he saw he had yet another text from his boss telling him that he’s gotta get back to work as much as he understands the situation Josh is in. Josh sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked, flopping down on the couch.

Josh came over to stand beside the couch as he stared at the text, wondering how to respond.

“My boss is bugging me again,” Josh answered.

Tyler nodded, looking up at him. “You gotta go back eventually.”

Josh sighed. “I know but-”

“I know you’re worried about leaving me but… I’ll be fine, Josh. I always have Mark if anything goes south.” Tyler told him.

Josh looked down at him. “Are you sure?”

“Completely.” Tyler smiled.

Josh hadn’t known if Tyler would be okay with him going back or not. Josh was insanely worried about leaving Tyler alone, especially if he got another visit from Blurryface, but he had a point. They had Mark now. And if anything got really out of hand his work wasn’t that far away from their apartment. 

Josh looked back down at his phone and typed out that he could be back as early as tomorrow, and then he shut his phone off to find that Tyler had drifted over to the piano. Smiling to himself, he sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, tired from everything happening right now.

A few minutes later and Josh heard something that made every fibre in his body react in happiness.

Tyler was singing.

It was soft, light, quiet. But it was Tyler. Josh sat up to look over the couch at Tyler to see that he was playing the keys softly, his eyes closed as he sang. He looked happy.

Josh recognized the melody as Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. He felt completely entranced in watching Tyler, once again feeling the pang of remembrance to how much he missed him when he was gone. His face was almost completely cleared up from the cuts and bruises that littered his skin, aside from the few scars on his nose and cheeks. He was looking more and more like himself every day, and Josh wanted to savour every moment.

When Tyler was finished the song he opened his eyes to find Josh staring right at him, and Josh blushed. Tyler grinned at him before standing up and walking over to the couch.

He threw himself down on top of Josh on the couch so that Josh was laying on his back, their stomachs touching as Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler’s body.

Tyler leaned down to kiss him, and Josh kissed him back, and Josh was flying.

Josh played with a strand of Tyler’s hair before Tyler was looking at him concernedly.

“What?” Josh asked.

“Where are your drums?” Tyler asked.

Josh looked away, already hating the topic.

Tyler sat up, moving so that he wasn’t crushing Josh anymore. Josh did the same, and then the two were sitting cross legged facing each other.

“I, well, it’s been awhile since I’ve brought them out,” Josh told him, looking down at his hands.

Tyler was staring at Josh intensely. “Why?” He asked quietly.

“Well because, I didn’t…” He sighed. “I didn’t feel like doing anything like that when you were gone, Ty.”

Tyler flinched. “Oh.”

They were quiet for a moment, neither speaking. 

“I just, well, I guess I forget sometimes that while I was gone for three years, you were here for three years and…” Tyler paused. “I think about if the roles were reversed and- man, I would've gone insane.”

“I almost did.” Josh said quietly.

Tyler looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”

Josh furrowed his eyebrows together. “For what?”

“For putting you through that.”

Josh couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Tyler was held captive for three years, tortured, experimented on, and yet he was apologizing. 

Josh placed a light hand under Tyler’s chin, making him meet his eyes. “Never apologize for what those bastards did to you, okay?

“I just-” Tyler began.

“Never.” Josh interrupted. 

Tyler stared at him for a moment before slightly nodding. “Okay.”

Josh smiled, kissing his forehead. 

Tyler moved so that he was laying his head in Josh’s lap, and Josh began playing with his hair, sighing contently.

“They’re still out there Josh,” Tyler whispered. “The people who did this to me.”

Josh hated thinking about this. He knew they were still out there, and he would be the last to admit that he was terrified too. The only thing that made him feel better was that the special agent, JJ, that they had talked to at the station, had phoned Josh and said that there was a police car stationed on watch at night, just as a precaution.

But Josh didn’t know the type of people they were dealing with here. Would one police car be enough?

“They’re not going to be caught, Josh.” Tyler muttered. “They kept me for three years, me and four other kids. There was something weird going on, they’re… they’re _good_ at what they do.”

“They’re capable of mistakes, Ty,” Josh told him. “You escaped.”

“Technically Blurryface escaped.” Tyler sighed.

“Yeah, but you maneuvered it,” Josh said. “I think they’re going to make another mistake soon, and every single bastard involved is going to be locked up.”

Tyler was silent for a moment. “I hope you’re right.”

 _I hope I am too,_ Josh thought.

-

The next day something happened to Josh that he was not expecting. He got a call from his mother.

Well, if he was being honest with himself, he probably should’ve expected it. He had been pretty MIA when it came to talking with his family, and he had assumed that they were just giving him some space because of recent events.

But now, Laura Dun was fed up. She wanted to see Josh and Tyler, and when Momma Dun wanted something, she got it.

So that’s how Tyler and Josh found themselves at Josh’s childhood home at night for dinner after Josh got back from work.

The night, in hindsight, went great. Tyler laughed along with everyone and had a smile on his face most of the night, which meant that Josh was right along with him. Josh’s siblings were all there as well, and they all kept the mood at a comfortable setting. Josh had called before hand and asked that they keep the topic away from Tyler’s last three years, because he knew Tyler was nervous about that. And they did just that. The closest they got to the topic was Laura asking Tyler how he was feeling, to which Tyler had responded with a smile and said he was doing a lot better.

Near the end of the night Josh couldn’t find a moment to get up and leave. They were all hanging around the living room, chatting and having a genuinely good time. Eventually Josh’s brothers and sisters went upstairs to sleep, as well as Josh’s dad, and then it was just Tyler, Josh and Laura left.

Josh stretched, looking over at Tyler. “We should probably head out soon, yeah?”

Tyler yawned, nodding. Laura smiled at them both as they stood up, and then she was turning to Tyler.

“Can I hug you, dear?” She asked.

Tyler hesitated, but then he was nodding. Josh watched as his mom pulled him into a tight hug, and Tyler hugged her back. Josh was standing where he could see Tyler’s face, and he saw him squeeze his eyes shut, a tear slipping out.

Laura pulled away and placed both of her hands on Tyler’s cheeks, looking into his eyes.

“I’m very proud of you hun, don’t you forget that okay?” She told him.

Tyler nodded, sniffing.

“I’m always here for you, whenever you need a mom,” She said. “Always.”

Tyler nodded again, and then Laura was pulling him in for another hug.

After Tyler had moved out of his mom’s house Josh had filled his own mom in on everything. Laura, as devastated as she was, had made it her mission to be a proper motherly figure in Tyler’s life. Laura knew that Tyler needed a mom right now, and Josh felt incredibly lucky to have her.

They pulled away, both wiping tears from their cheeks, and Josh had to blink away a few of his own. Laura was then hugging Josh as well.

“I’m so proud of you as well, Joshy.” She said into the hug. “You watch out for each other okay? And like I said, you need anything, I’m here.”

“Thank you, mom.” Josh said, trying not to cry.

She pulled away and then Tyler was looping his hand into Josh’s, and they both smiled at Laura. 

Laura smiled back as she held the front door open for them. They said a couple of last goodbyes, and then they were getting into the car.

They drove home in a comfortable silence, neither knowing what to say. It wasn’t until Josh heard his cell phone ringing that he asked Tyler to check who it is.

Tyler frowned at the screen. “It’s Mark.”

“Answer it,” Josh told him.

“Hello?” Tyler answered. “You serious? Okay, yeah, we’ll be home in a few minutes, we’ll come to yours? Okay, okay, see you soon.”

He hung up. 

“What did he say?” Josh asked.

“He found some information on my mo- on Karen,” Tyler said. “He wants to see us immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello 
> 
> ok so if any of you watch criminal minds, mark is as good at hacking and computers as garcia is. for those of you that don't watch criminal minds, garcia is a technical analyst for the FBI and she got her job by hacking into many different businesses and companies and was later arrested for it, but the FBI thought she was so good at what she does that they wanted her to work for them. so, in my story, that's how good of a hacker mark is.
> 
> ALSO i got my inspo for tyler's scars on his face from the heathens video, so if you need reference to how his face looks, WATCH THE VID (or look at pics you know whatever floats your boat)
> 
> on an unrelated note, who's still crying because the boys played two SOLD OUT SHOWS at madison square garden? i am. i was a mess the whole two days. (i still am)
> 
> ANYWAYS THESE NOTES ARE REALLY LONG SO I'M GONNA SHUT UP
> 
> HAPPY READING :)


	11. goner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This moment, when everything faded.

Tyler and Josh were standing behind Mark’s computer on either side of Mark, who was sitting in his computer chair staring wildly at the bright screen in front of him. Josh had felt tired an hour ago, but now he had never felt more awake.

“Okay so I’m going to start with the simple stuff first.” Mark said, typing on the keyboard quickly.

“You said she works as a grocery store clerk, correct?” Mark asked, glancing up at Tyler.

Tyler nodded. “Yeah, last time I checked.”

“Okay well, do you see this?” He asked, pointing at the screen. “This is the date she quit her job.”  


Josh squinted at the screen and, if he was honest with himself, could barely understand a thing that was displayed. It was a bunch of coding and weird lettering, but Josh trusted that Mark understood what was going on. Josh could tell Tyler was thinking the same thing as he stared at the screen, his hand twisting a strand of his hair.

Josh’s eyes found where Mark was pointing, however, and he read it out loud.

“February 24th.” Josh said, looking at Mark.

“Weird, right?” Mark said, looking between Josh and Tyler.

“Uh, wait, I’m not following, what’s so weird about-” Josh began.

“February 24th, three years ago!” Mark exclaimed, jabbing a finger into the screen.

Oh. _Oh_. 

“A week before I was taken…” Tyler whispered.

Josh caught Tyler eyes, and the two shared a moment, a million thoughts passing between them.

“I found that fishy, but that’s not it,” Mark broke the gaze, clicking around the computer screen. “She was unemployed for all three years that you were missing, but she was still getting a steady income.”

Mark pointed to the screen at the money that was being put into Karen Joseph’s bank account.

“That’s a lot more than she was making as a grocery store clerk…” Tyler mentioned, shaking his head, eyes wide.

“That’s… so where was the money coming from?” Josh asked, looking to Mark.

Mark sat back in his chair, running a hand through his head. “That’s the thing. I tried tracing it to the account, but I came up short every time. It was some weird name that didn’t lead back to anyone. I’m going to keep trying though, so don’t worry, I’ll hopefully get something it’s just really hard to do and-”

“Mark, hey, it’s alright, you’ve done more than we could of hoped for so far.” Josh assured him. Tyler nodded, smiling slightly at him.

“Okay okay, there’s more,” Mark sat back up, typing once again. “October 5th, that’s the day you were found, right?”  


Tyler nodded.

Mark pointed at the screen. “That’s the date that she got a new job, at some other grocery store, and the massive payments stopped coming in.”

Josh and Tyler looked at where his finger was pointing. 

“October 15th…” Josh said aloud. “Days after Tyler was found.”

Mark spun his chair around to look at them. Tyler couldn’t peel his eyes away from screen. 

“So… So, we think, that she-she might have… been involved?” Josh’s brain was spinning. “With Tyler’s capture?”

Mark rubbed his hands over his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Look man, I don’t want to make any assumptions but, _that,_ ” He pointed at the screen behind him. “That would be a pretty crazy coincidence.”

“I-” Tyler finally spoke up. “I need to… I think- I need a minute.” He ran out of the room.

Josh was about to go after him when he thought better of it. Tyler probably just needed a mental break to process this new information.

Mark got up and walked over to the couch in his apartment. He gestured to Josh to join him, so he did. He sat down and buried his face in his hands.

“What are you thinking man?” Mark asked. 

Josh sat back, staring at the ceiling. “I think it makes complete sense.”

Mark was staring at him. 

Josh sighed. “At the graveyard, when Tyler and I ran into Karen, I knew something was weird with her. She was… she was pushing him. She wanted him to break, to explode. She was watching him like a damn science experiment.”

Mark shook his head. “Wow.”

Josh nodded. “And then for her to pop up again in the forest, watching us from afar… it just, it makes sense.”

“She couldn’t have been the only one involved though, right?” Mark asked.

Josh shook his head. “No, Tyler said there were many people involved, they wore ski masks.”

Mark rubbed at his eyes. “That’s fucked up.”

Josh nodded, silent.

They sat there for a bit, neither talking. Josh didn’t know what to say.

“So what now?” Mark asked.

“I’m going to go see how Tyler is handling this.” Josh said, standing up.

He only made it to the door when it was opening, and Tyler was walking through. His eyes were red and puffy, but he looked held together. He looked… strong.

“We need to find some sort of concrete evidence against her.” Tyler said, looking between Mark and Josh.

Mark chuckled. “I agree man, but where are we supposed to find it?”

“There’s gotta be something at her house.” Tyler answered, a blank expression on his face.

“Okay… how are we supposed to get in?” Mark asked.

Josh just stared at Tyler. 

“We break in.” Tyler said.

“Woah woah woah, slow down Ty, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Josh cut in.

Tyler looked at him. “Why not? I want her arrested Josh, I want her gone.” 

Josh stared back. “I do too, but we can’t go doing anything that’s going to get us arrested in the process.”

“How do we even know there will be any evidence at her house? That would be pretty risky.” Mark chimed in.

“It’s worth a shot,” Tyler said. “C’mon, you guys, this is the first piece of information we’ve figured out that somehow links to the people that did this to me.”

Josh stared at him sympathetically. He took a step closer, placing his hands on Tyler’s shoulders. Tyler stared up at him.  
“I know Ty, but don’t you think we’re moving too fast? We need to think about this.”

Tyler just stared at him, his eyes filling with more tears. “I’m tired of being terrified all the time.”

Josh’s heart broke. God, of course. Of course Tyler would want to jump at the opportunity to solve this. Those people who did this to him, who held him captive for three years without getting caught were still out there. Of course he would want to figure this out. He’s terrified. Josh was terrified too.

Josh pulled him into a hug, holding him close. They just stood there, silent, as they enjoyed the comfort of each other’s arms. It was Tyler’s arms that Josh always felt safe in, and he hoped that it was the same for Tyler. Because there was nothing more that Josh wanted than for Tyler to find some sort of safety in Josh. Tyler deserved, more than anyone, to feel safe.

“We’re going to figure this out, I promise.” Josh said into the hug.

“Always the optimist.” Tyler replied, repeating what he had said before.

Josh chuckled, pulling away. They smiled at each other before Mark was cutting in.

“I don’t mean to interrupt but, my mom always said that when you’re not sure about a decision, to sleep on it,” He said as Tyler and Josh turned to look at him. “So how about we all get some sleep and regroup tomorrow?”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Josh yawned, turning to see Tyler nodding.

“Alright, so if you two lovebirds could kindly leave me and my bed alone that would be fantastic.” Mark joked getting up.

Tyler and Josh walked over to the door and opened it. “Thank you Mark, for all of this. We really appreciate it.” Josh said, smiling tiredly.

Mark smiled back. “What are friends for?”

When Tyler and Josh got back to the apartment they immediately retreated to bed. Josh had work early tomorrow which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because Tyler would be sleeping for the majority of his shift and Josh could return to spend the rest of the day with him, but a curse because it was so damn early.

So they lay there. Josh with his arm around Tyler and Tyler with his head resting in the crook of Josh’s neck, breathing calmly. Neither spoke, both having nothing left to say. That was the beauty about being in love with your bestfriend, someone who you’ve known for your whole life. They didn’t need to say anything to understand exactly what the other was thinking.  


They were both scared, two boys facing way more of the world than they ever should. But they had each other. Their bed felt like their safety net, their little spot in the world where they could lay together and try to forget everything they were facing. Josh took a moment, as he was running a hand up and down Tyler’s bare back, to really feel him. Feel his skin, feel the warmth radiating off of it. To take in the fact that this was Tyler… Tyler. Here, with him.

He exhaled shakily, closing his eyes.

“You okay?” Tyler asked softly.

“Never better.” Josh smiled sleepily.

-

The next few days of Josh Dun’s life went as follows.

He worked. Morning’s, mostly. He came home, he hung out with Tyler, and they would either go for a walk through the streets or out to a little cafe to eat lunch. They kept it calm, as usual. Because while Tyler was doing much better in his recovery he still got overwhelmed in certain situations.

They kept the conversations mostly reared away from Karen Joseph, saving them for at night when they met up with Mark and discussed where to move forward. Usually they ended up getting distracted and ordering pizza and playing video games instead. 

Tyler talked a good game about wanting to catch the guys that did this to him, but Josh could tell he was scared, which is why Tyler was more than happy to participate in the video game/pizza eating instead of pressing on with figuring out a plan. Making a set plan meant making it more real that they were going to have to come face to face with the reality that Karen was somewhat responsible for what happened to Tyler, and that was hard to come to terms with.

As for Blurryface, he stayed pretty quiet. Tyler, Josh and Mark would go out to the forest to play around with Tyler’s powers, and Tyler was getting better and better at controlling them. They didn’t stay there long though, scared that Karen would show up again. They kept their forest visits to a minimum.

It wasn’t until one visit when things took a turn. They were in the forest clearing, and Tyler was in the middle of controlling Blurry’s anger inside of him. His eyes were a dull red, his neck and hands black, and the air was swirling around him. Josh and Mark were watching from the sides, ready to step in when needed, when Josh heard a branch crack over on the far right side of the clearing. Mark must have heard it too, because his head snapped around as well. 

Josh was squinting, trying to see the source of it, when he noticed Tyler start charging forward.  


“Stop him!” Mark was shouting, and then they were both running forward.

Josh grabbed Tyler’s arm, pulling him back, but Tyler kept fighting.

Tyler pushed Josh to the ground.

Josh landed with a grunt, blinking dizzily. He saw Tyler push Mark to the ground as well before he was taking off running through the forest. 

“TYLER CONTROL IT!” Josh screamed after him.

Tyler came to a hult, his back to Josh and Mark. The two kept their eyes pressed on Tyler’s back, praying that he would fight Blurry, that he would win.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Tyler was turning around, his eyes back to brown and his neck and hands slowly fading back to their original colour.

And then he was sinking to the ground.

Josh was immediately on his feet, Mark following, and then they were running over to him.

Tyler had his knees close to his chest, his arms wrapped around them as he buried his face in his lap. Josh sunk down next to him, placing a hand on his back.

“Tyler? You with me?” Josh asked, glancing wearily up at Mark.

“Y-yeah,” He answered.

Josh and Mark both breathed out sighs of relief.

“I’m sorry.” Tyler said, still hiding his face in his knees.

“Dude, you don’t have to apologize,” Mark comforted. “That was the first time you got distracted while Blurry was in your head.”

Tyler lifted his face, looking exhausted but now meeting their eyes. “It was her.”

Josh immediately knew he was talking about Karen.

“It was her and I just felt myself losing it, I wanted to go after her and demand answers but- I knew that wouldn’t be smart, I just- Blurry wanted me to go forward so I just did.” Tyler continued. 

“Blurry’s a bitch.” Mark muttered, falling onto his back and staring at the sky through the tree clearing. “Karen, too.”

Josh chuckled and a small smile grew on Tyler’s face. 

“We have to do something about her, guys, I’m tired of her just showing up everywhere.” Tyler said tiredly.

Josh nodded, as well as Mark. “I think it’s time we stop procrastinating via Super Smash Bros.” Mark said.

Josh nodded again. “So we come up with a plan. Tonight.”

-

“I’m sticking with what I said before,” Tyler was saying. “I think we need to break into her house.”

They were back at Tyler and Josh’s apartment, sitting around the kitchen table.

“But what if we come up short?” Mark asked. “Do you really think she would have that kind of evidence at her house?”

“I think it’s worth a shot I mean,” Tyler continued. “Where else are we going to look? So far this is the only lead we have.”

Josh was silent as he stared at the table. When Tyler first brought up sneaking into Karen’s house, Josh had thought it was a terrible idea. So much could go wrong. But the more he thought about it, the more he was agreeing with Tyler. They had nothing else. The only information they had was that Karen may or may not be involved with Tyler’s capture, and other than that, nothing.

“We would have to get her work schedule,” Josh cut in. “And Mark, we would need you to keep watch outside.”

“You’re thinking it’s a good idea?” Mark asked, looking at Josh wearily.

Josh sat back, running a hand through his hair. “Good idea? No. Only idea? Yes.”

Tyler was looking at him intently. “If anything, we break in, we come up with nothing, and we just leave.”

Josh nodded, staring back. “Exactly.”

Mark groaned, throwing his head back and staring up at the ceiling. “Just saying, when I first met you guys I never thought it would mean… well, it would mean this.”

Josh chuckled. “Sorry to say buddy, but you’re stuck with us now.”

“I mean, I already do illegal hacking, why not add breaking and entering to the list?” Mark sighed, but he was smiling.

Tyler was smiling as well, getting up to grab a piece of paper and pen. He sat back down and placed the two items in the middle, pulling the pen cap off.

“So, let’s begin.”

-

Boom boom tsh. Boom da boom boom tsh. Tshhhh boom boom tshhhh.

Josh was nervous, so naturally he was pretending his thighs were drums.

They were parked a few houses down from Karen Joseph’s house in Mark’s car just in case there was a chance that Karen knew Josh’s car. Josh could tell Tyler was nervous as well, as his leg was shaking. Up and down up and down up and down.

“Alright so number one, your phone is on vibrate?” Mark asked, looking at Josh.

Josh nodded, triple checking his phone.

“Okay,” Mark continued. “Number two, the second it vibrates, meaning I’m texting you, you check it. Right?”

Josh nodded again.

“Alright, and remember she doesn’t have an alarm code, so hopefully you’ll be able to get in through the back.” Mark went over the plan.

Mark was able to figure out that she doesn’t have an alarm, and Josh had gotten into Karen’s house multiple times when Tyler still lived there. Through the back and up the ladder. The ladder was also still there, at least it had been yesterday when Mark had done a drive by.

“Okay, well, that’s it,” Mark exhaled shakily. “We sure about this?”

Josh looked to Tyler, who gulped. “Yes, let’s go.” Tyler said, opening the door.

Josh looked to Mark. “See you soon, right?”

Mark nodded, looking at Josh with slight fear in his eyes. “Right. I’m going to kick your ass later at Mario Kart, just remember that.”

Josh chuckled, appreciating him trying to lighten the mood. “In your dreams.”

And then he was getting out of the car and shutting the door behind him.

As they were approaching the house, Josh felt a sickening feeling of vomit in his stomach. He pushed it aside.

That should of been the first sign that they should turn back now.

Tyler and Josh walked casually to the back of the house and over to the ladder that was resting on the ground, long forgotten about. The backyard seriously needed a makeover, the grass far too long and all kinds of garbage thrown around. Josh grimaced, wanting to get this over with. Seeing this house, the ladder and the window and the backyard was bringing back all kinds of memories from when Tyler would call him in tears because of Karen hurting him, or neglecting him, or starving him, etc. Josh exhaled, grabbing the ladder.

“Let’s get this over with.” He said, pulling it open and resting it beside the window.

“Couldn’t agree more.” Tyler said.

The two started climbing up the ladder, Josh first and Tyler second. Josh had to pry the window open with force before climbing through it, and then he held the ladder from up top as Tyler climbed through.

“Okay, step one accomplished.” Josh breathed as they stood in the upstairs hallway.

“Follow me,” Tyler said, leading him down the hall.

Step two, find her office.

Tyler led Josh to a room down the hall, only stopping for a moment to glance at what was once Tyler’s childhood bedroom. Josh laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Tyler just shook his head before continuing into Karen’s office.

They walked inside and Josh suddenly had the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. It smelt musty, old, like it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time. But it had been lived in. Karen had left all kind of plates and drink cans around the room.

“Lovely,” Josh muttered as they walked over to her computer.

Tyler turned it on and the screen was immediately asking for a password.

“What did Mark say it was again?” Tyler asked, scratching his temple.

“Basketball20432,” Josh replied, having memorized it last night.

Mark had been able to get into her computer when he was doing his hacking, and although he came up with nothing, they wanted to double check. Josh doubted they would find anything, but it was worth a shot.

While Tyler fooled around on her computer, Josh searched the room for any files that might look out of place. At first he could only find things like passwords for irrelevant accounts, usernames for dumb social media platforms, etc. But then he came across a file with an odd symbol on the front. "ØØØ".

He opened the file and started scanning through it. He couldn’t make sense of it at first, but then his brain started connecting the dots. One page had a bunch of coding that made zero sense, until the bottom of the page.

_T.J. S: BF = Check._

“This is pointless,” Tyler was saying over by the computer. “There’s hardly anything on here.”

“Tyler…” Josh muttered, not looking up from the file.

“What?” Tyler asked, looking at him.

Josh walked over to him and handed him the file, pointing at the bottom.

“T.J. S: BF = Check,” Tyler read out loud. “I don’t understand.”

“BF… you don’t think that means-”

“Blurryface,” Tyler realized. “Blurryface equals check. Success. And... those are my initials...”

They locked eyes for a moment, and then Tyler was throwing himself to the ground and displaying all of the sheets out on the ground, scanning them. Josh dropped to the ground as well, helping him.

Tyler stopped dead at one sheet of paper, picking it up and sitting back. Josh watched him in silence.

“E.H…, K.W…, T.R…, A.H…,” Tyler read aloud. “All of them have X’s beside them. Josh, these are the initials of the dead kids.”

Josh’s heart skipped a beat. “Tyler, this could be enough. This could be enough evidence.”

Tyler looked up at him, fear in his eyes. “I don’t know, Josh… It might not be.”

“Ty, it’s all here,” Josh said. “It might be in weird coding, but it’s enough for them to at least take her in.”

Tyler looked back down at the sheets, exhaling. “Okay… okay.”

Josh started collecting the sheets and putting them back in the files. “We leave them here, and then we call the police, tell them they need to check her house. That way we don’t have to explain to anyone why we found ourselves inside of her house.”

Tyler nodded, helping him put everything back.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Josh said, taking Tyler’s hand and walking out of the room.

Josh Dun had only ever felt real, panic-gripping, genuine fear a select amount of times in his life. The first was when he was little and he almost got hit by a car while skateboarding. The second was when he saw the police lights out front of Tyler’s house three years ago and he knew that something was very, very wrong. The third was when he saw on the news that a dead body had been found in their area and he had almost thrown up thinking it was Tyler.

And this moment. This moment, when he walked out of Karen’s office and came face to face with a man who was a few feet taller than him, with a long brown beard and eyes that held far too much anger than any pair of eyes should hold. This moment, when the man reached forward and grabbed Josh by the hair and held a cloth over his mouth and he heard Tyler scream. This moment, when he felt his vision fading and the last thing he saw was the man grab Tyler.

This moment, when everything faded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so 
> 
> i'm sorry (((i'm really not)))
> 
> i hope you all didn't mind waiting a little longer considering this chapter is a monster
> 
> also i'm sorry if there's any mistakes, i wanted to get this up asap today and considering it's longer it's harder to check over a billion times for spelling errors
> 
> ANYWAYS ENJOY HELL
> 
> tumblr: anotherbooknerd


	12. trapdoor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re back here,” Tyler continued. “I knew I would end up here again. I just- I knew it, Josh.”

Josh Dun was a fan of the cold side of the pillow.

He hated sleeping in heat. He would rather crank the air conditioning up full blast and be covered in a billion blankets opposed to sleeping in comfortable warmth.

When he woke up on this day, he was cold.   
But not comfortable.

As he came to, he was aware of a few things. One, his right cheek was pressed against a very cold, very hard floor. Two, his head was pounding. Three, he felt nauseous. And four, he felt incredibly confused.

He pushed himself off of the floor and looked around.

That’s when the memories came flashing back, hitting him dead on in the face and spreading across his entire body.

He jumped to his feet and almost immediately fell over, dizziness overcoming him. He rubbed at his eyes, forcing his body to work with him here.

That’s when he noticed Tyler.

The room they were in had no windows. It was quite dark, the only light coming from a dull lamp in the corner of the room. Beside the lamp was a tiny bed, and a door that seemed to lead to a toilet. It was cold. Very, very cold. 

Tyler was in the corner of this very cold room. He was sitting, pressing himself into it with his legs pressed up to his chest and his arms wrapped around him. He had a metal collar on his neck.

Josh ran over to him.

“Tyler, oh my god- are you-”

“You’re going to get out of here Josh.” He said very quietly, looking at a spot on the floor.

His eyes were blank, no expression on his face.

“What are y-” Josh began.

“They don’t need you,” He said, still staring at the same spot. “They want me.”

“What’s on your neck-”

“The minute they tell you you can go, you listen to them,” Tyler said, voice dead. “You listen to them, and you leave. Don’t worry about me.”

“TYLER!” Josh interrupted him. He put his hands on Tyler’s cheeks, forcing him to look at him.

“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Josh began. “But whatever happens, we do it together. Just like always.”

Life was starting to come back to Tyler’s eyes. They filled with tears.

“This was my old room,” He stated brokenly. “From those years, this is where I was kept.”

Josh wanted to throw up.

“We’re back here,” Tyler continued. “I knew I would end up here again. I just- I knew it, Josh.”

Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler and held him as he started sobbing. Josh hated this more than anything in the world. His one job, the only thing he wanted was to protect Tyler, to make sure that he spent the rest of his life in peace and happiness.

And he had failed.

“I’m going to get us out of here, Tyler, I promise.” Josh started crying.

“This is all my fault-” Tyler cried.

“Don’t you dare say that.” Josh stroked Tyler’s hair as he cried into his chest.

“It is, it was my idea to break into her house. It was my idea, Josh, it’s my fault.” He sobbed. “I should have used Blurry to stop him from taking us but I-I panicked and I just, I couldn’t-”

“Hey, look at me,” Josh lifted Tyler’s chin so that he was staring into his eyes. “None of this is your fault. None of it.”

Both of them were crying, hugging and sobbing into each other's arms. Josh was trying to stay strong, but he couldn’t hold it in. He just held Tyler, never wanting to let go.

“This thing on my neck, I think it’s making my powers useless,” Tyler sniffed. “Every time I try getting angry I feel a wave of nausea.”

Josh had figured. The skin around the collar was faded black, as if it was trying to seep out but was rendered useless.

Josh felt his heart sink when the door behind them started opening. Josh grabbed Tyler’s hand, wanting to keep some part of his body touching Tyler at all times, and then he turned around to look.

The man that they had met in Karen’s house was standing there, grinning.

“Tyler, nice to see you again,” He smiled. “And Josh, I don’t believe we got a proper introduction. I’m Jones.”

Josh felt like he resembled a dog in this moment. He wanted to growl at this man, the anger inside of him bubbling.

“I assume you thought no one was home at Karen’s place?” He grinned, crossing his arms. “Rough call. Karen and I have been a little more… intimate these days, so I’ve been sleeping there.”

Tyler’s hand was shaking in Josh’s. Josh could assume that this man was involved in some of Tyler’s torture by the way Tyler was avoiding eye contact. But it made sense, now. They hadn’t even thought about Karen having someone else living with her. 

“Anyways, there’s a few people that want to see you,” Jones said. “You know, welcome you back.”

Josh’s immediate instinct was to move so that he was in front of Tyler, blocking Jones’ path from him. Jones just chuckled as a few men were suddenly piling into the room and grabbing Tyler and Josh, pulling them apart and from the ground. Josh struggled as his hands were pulled behind his back and handcuffed together. Josh noticed the same being done to Tyler, except he wasn’t struggling. He just stood there, dead eyed once again.

The two were pushed out of the room and escorted down a very long hall. The walls were cement, as well as the ground. Josh guessed that they were underground, judging by the coldness and the lack of windows.

Another thing Josh noticed was doors. A lot of doors. They were walking past them but not entering them. Josh had so many questions.

When they reached the end of the hall they stopped in front of a sliding door that opened when they got to it. Jones entered first, and the men holding Tyler and Josh pushed them inside.

They were standing in what looked like a place where people came to hang out. The walls were painted a pale blue, and there were many circular tables around the room with chairs at each one. It resembles almost like a small cafeteria. Josh imagined it to be where these psychos would come to eat and relax after their day of torturing young teenagers. Josh felt sick.

And then he noticed Karen Joseph standing up from one of the tables.

And then he felt more rage.

Tyler and Josh were pushed over to the table she was at and shoved into the chairs. The men stood behind them, like prison guards. Josh almost wanted to laugh at the situation. They were both handcuffed, and Tyler’s powers were contained. How much harm could they cause?

Karen sat down across from them.

“Hello boys,” She smiled. “Nice to see you.”

“Go to hell.” Josh growled, hands shaking with rage.

Karen just smiled at him. “That’s not the way to talk to someone who’s about to give you the answers you’ve been so longingly waiting for.”

Josh glanced at Tyler, noticing him glance slightly up at her before resuming his gaze at the table.

Karen turned her gaze to Tyler. “I know you’ve been waiting awhile for these answers, Tyler. Three years to be exact.”

Tyler just kept staring dead at the table.

Karen sighed. “I know you both are angry but-”

“Angry?!” Josh felt himself losing it. “Oh, that’s an understatement, we’re-”

“If you start yelling you’re going to force me to escort you back to your room, and then you will not receive any answers.” Karen said, her voice almost robotic.

“Go. To. Hell.” Josh repeated, lowering his voice but sitting back.

She leaned forward, crossing her hands together on the table. “Shall I begin?”

Josh didn’t answer, choosing to just stare back.

“This program we have running here is called Triple Ø,” She began. “It’s an organization created when the possibility of a strain came into focus.”

“I was introduced to it through Jones a few years back when it was only an idea,” She continued. “I was weary of it at first, but then they told me that they needed people to test the strain out on. And Tyler, when you and I had our falling out, well, the answer was there.”

Josh felt like he was going to vomit for the tenth time that day.

“They needed young men such as yourself, that were strong and healthy to endure extremely high stress situations, such as, yes, torture. You and the others received just that.”

It was all so wrong, Josh thought. Parents were supposed to love and care for their children no matter what. They were supposed to be the people that protected their children, not throw them into this kind of life.

“To be fair, we didn’t expect it to last as long as it did,” Karen continued. “But the serum wasn’t working inside any of your bodies. We kept trying, kept increasing the pain inflicted on you, but it took a lot longer than we had initially hoped. Eventually you all started showing signs of anger, of Blurryface, and we knew we had reached a turning point in the experiments.”

Josh looked at Tyler, who was watching Karen now. He still had that dead-eye look, but he looked interested, he was paying attention. Josh moved his foot underneath the table to that it was resting against Tyler’s, a silent show of comfort. Tyler pressed his foot back.

“But then it all went wrong,” Karen continued, faking sadness. “The others began dying, and we thought that was it. We thought that you were all going to die, and the past three years of work would be a waste.”

She stared straight at Tyler.

“But then you surprised us all. You were the last survivor, and instead of getting weaker, you began getting stronger. And that’s when we knew… we had a success.” Karen smiled. “Blurryface was the success. It was marvellous, extraordinary. Oh, God, the possibilities that could be done with this serum out in the world…”

Josh thought that she was going to have an orgasm over this “serum.” Josh had no idea Karen was so interested in this stuff. It was bizarre. 

“So we decided to move you to another area, give you some space to let the serum adjust to your body. We knew that it would take longer if you were camped up in this joint, the same place you were in for three years. But then, well, you escaped.” Karen said.

“We weren’t expecting you to be so strong that quickly, and when you broke out of the van you did it in a very… public place. And we knew that your face was one that many people were looking for, so we couldn’t associate ourselves with that, especially me, in case we were caught. So we let you go.”

Josh was staring devil eyes at her.

“We realized that it didn’t matter much that you escaped. You could go, enjoy your little bit of freedom, and Blurryface would adjust to your body in the meantime. I couldn’t help myself, I had to sneak up on you, I had to see how Blurryface was doing. I was amazed.” Karen was grinning. “We were planning on giving you a few more weeks of freedom before we snatched you up again, but you walked right into us, didn’t you? And now we have Josh as well.” 

“Let him go, please.” Tyler suddenly spoke up. 

Josh shot his eyes over to look at him, mind dizzy with all of this information. “Tyler-”

“You have me back, you don’t need him, you said it yourself.” Tyler told her, not looking at Josh.

Karen just laughed. “I’m sorry Tyler, you brought this on yourselves. If it helps, we don’t have any use for Josh, so we won’t be touching him unless he steps out of line. For now, at least. Consider us doing you a favour, he gets to watch your downfall.”

“Please-”

“No no, it’s not up for discussion,” Karen grinned.

“What was the point of the serum?” Josh asked, mind still reeling. “You were testing it on all of these teenagers, what’s the end game?”

Karen smiled at him. “The intention was to end up with a serum that could turn any normal human being into a powerful one. Someone who could, for example, push the wind. Use their anger to take down armies, etc. The little green monster inside of your head that pushes you in the direction that causes the most destruction. It’s too dangerous to build an army right now, but that’s the future goal.”

Josh opened his mouth, wanting to point out the many flaws that he could already see in this plan, but he thought against it. He would use those to his future advantage.

“That brings us to now, the present.” Karen smiled, standing up. 

The men behind Tyler and Josh grabbed them, pulling them to their feet. Tyler looked pale, still having his apathetic mask on. 

“We need to see what Blurryface can do, follow me boys.” She said.

“No…” Tyler whispered brokenly. 

For the first time today, Tyler started struggling.

They were dragged out of the room and down the hall once again, Tyler was trying to stand his ground, but the men just pushed him like he weighed nothing.

They were pushed into a room that was insanely bright, with a chair that resembled a dentist chair on the far side of the room. This area was separated by glass, and there were about five other people in the room fiddling with wires. There were computers on the one side of the glass, opposite to the dentist chair, that people were sitting at and typing away on. They were preparing for whatever was about to happen. 

Josh was dragged over to the opposite side of the glass and came to a halt. The man tightened his grip on him as the others dragged Tyler over to the other side of the glass. Josh then realized what was happening. Tyler was going to be put into the chair.

“STOP, LET HIM GO!” Josh screamed, thrashing against the man.

It was as if Josh had been barely holding onto his emotions. He felt as if he had his own Blurryface inside of him, and he was teetering over the edge.

“Josh!” Tyler yelled as the people strapped him down into the chair.

“TYLER!” Josh screamed. “PLEASE, DON’T DO THIS…”

“If you don’t shut up we’re going to take you back to your room, away from Tyler.” Karen was suddenly beside Josh, crossing her arms and watching Tyler be put into the chair.

Josh was breathing heavily, but otherwise shut his mouth. His heart was beating a billion beats a minute. He didn’t feel like this was real.

They started attaching wires to Tyler’s head, to his arms, to his heart. Someone else came forward and took the metal collar off of him, and the black on his neck was released. It started spreading, as well as the black on his hands. 

The people on the side of the glass with Tyler retreated over to Josh’s side, hitting a few buttons so that their side was safe. 

Tyler was struggling, his eyes becoming red.

Blurry was coming out to play.

Tyler’s chest was heaving, and Karen was grinning. Josh swung his head around as the door that they came through opened and in walked Jones as well as another man who looked to be about sixty, with a white beard and white hair. And his eyes. His eyes were a piercing grey.

They stood beside Karen, arms crossed and watching.

Josh noticed that Tyler’s hair was started to blow, and he already knew that Tyler was making the air in there move. Karen was grinning, nudging Jones and the white haired man.

“This is what I was talking about,” She said excitedly.

Tyler was groaning, thrashing against the restraints. 

The people that were sitting at the computers were calling Karen over, showing her whatever it was on the screen. She grinned, overjoyed. 

“His vitals are INSANE.” She said excitedly. “Wow!”

Josh had never wanted to punch anyone more in his life.

That was when Josh had an idea.

“TYLER CONTROL IT!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping with everything in him that Tyler could hear him.

He must have, because Tyler suddenly stopped thrashing. He went still against the chair, and his hair fell onto his face.

The man holding Josh yanked him harshly, and Karen sent him daggers. Josh didn’t care, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Tyler.

Tyler was still breathing heavy, but Josh could tell he was fighting for control. He was squeezing his eyes shut, and Josh could guess that were already fading to their original brown. 

The black around his neck was starting to fade, as well as on his hands. Josh couldn’t contain the grin that swept on his face.

Karen let out a squeal of anger, and then she walked in front of Josh. Josh smiled at her. 

And then she punched him in the face.

Josh groaned, hanging his head.

“Keep that smile off of your face,” She spit. “He won’t be able to control it forever.”

She walked over to Jones and the white haired man, speaking to them in hushed tones. Josh lifted his head back up to look at Tyler, who was laying there staring at the ceiling. He must have sensed Josh looking at him, because he lifted his head to catch Josh’s eyes. Josh smiled slightly at him, and Tyler’s mouth twitched. 

Josh felt proud. 

“It’s late,” Karen huffed. “Take them back to their room, we’ll continue this tomorrow.”

The people from before were returning to Tyler’s side of the glass and putting the metal collar back on his neck while also detaching him from the chair. They put the handcuffs back on his wrists, and then they were both being led back to their room.

When they reached it the handcuffs were removed and they were thrown inside as the door was shut behind them.

As soon as they were alone Josh engulfed Tyler in a hug, wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around him as he felt Tyler do the same. They just stood there for a moment, both squeezing tightly, before they were pulling away and staring at each other.

“I guess that practice paid off, eh?” Josh said, staring into Tyler’s eyes.

Tyler stared back. “They’re going to worsen it tomorrow Josh, I don’t know if I’ll be able to control it again.”

Josh led him over to the tiny bed in the corner and they both sat on it. Tyler buried his face in his hands. Josh laid his hand on Tyler’s back, rubbing it.

“We have to get out of here, Josh, we can’t let them do this to more people… they want to eventually create an army.” Tyler muttered. “They’re going to try to make it so that I can’t control it, and if I can’t, and an entire army can’t…”

Josh didn’t know what to do. He once again felt useless. He had no idea where they were, only that it was somewhere that Tyler had been in for three years of his life without being found. Things were only going to get worse, and he didn’t know what to do.

Then a thought came to mind.

“Mark…” Josh said.

Tyler sat up, leaning his head on Josh’s shoulder. “I miss him.”

Josh held Tyler’s hand. “Do you think he saw us get taken out of Karen’s house?”

Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Because if he did… he could have gotten help, Ty, we might have a chance-”

“I don’t want to think about that.” Tyler interrupted.

“Why?” Josh asked, looking down at him.

“Hope doesn’t do much in this place.” Tyler whispered hopelessly. 

Josh thought about Tyler in this room, all by himself, with no hope, for three years. Josh suddenly felt like he could never be happy again. 

“Please don’t give up hope, Ty, please.” Josh whispered.

Tyler was then moving so that he was laying down on the pillow. Josh moved as well, wrapping himself around Tyler, pulling him close as if they were on their own bed back home.

Home.

Josh missed everything about it. The little life they had built for themselves since Tyler got back, it was their own little paradise. It was Josh and Tyler against the universe. And sure, in a way, it still was. Josh tried thinking about this as just another obstacle that they had to face.

But as he looked around the cold, dark room, he found it hard himself finding that flicker of hope. He suddenly felt hopeless, depressed, empty. He felt like this was it, this was the end.

But then Tyler was shifting against him, burying his head closer into Josh’s chest. Not sleeping, because neither of them would sleep tonight, but just trying to take in every moment close to each other. 

That’s when Josh felt a new wave of strength wash over him. 

It was always about Tyler. From the moment Josh met him. When Tyler got sick, Josh entertained him with movies and soup and cold cloths. When Karen first hit Tyler, Josh stayed up all night with him trying to get him to smile. When Tyler felt scared or alone, Josh was always there. And Tyler did the same for Josh. When Josh felt like he had no purpose in his life, Tyler was there to convince him that he was worth it. When Josh didn’t want to go to college, but instead decided to try to make music work out, Tyler supported him without a second thought. When Josh was feeling anxious, Tyler was always there to help him through it.

It was always about Tyler. Tyler was that one unwavering thing in Josh’s life, that one thing that was always there, never moving. This situation was no different.

Josh pulled Tyler closer to him. He was going to get Tyler through this. If it was the last thing he did.

Because it was just always about Tyler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so imma be completely honest here
> 
> this story is coming close to an end
> 
> well... kind of. there's still quite a bit that is going to happen, but we're definitely way more than half way done at this point. i just wanted to give y'all a heads up
> 
> i might write some one shots when it's finished, however, like possibly one that is about tyler's time in captivity, and maybe some things from tyler's perspective, etc. would you guys read those if i were to write them? let me know!
> 
> and as usual, happy reading :)


	13. hole in the ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler brought his gaze up to look at Josh. Josh couldn’t understand it, but he just knew that in this moment, Tyler was looking for his anchor. The thing that kept him grounded, the thing that kept him from bringing Blurry out.
> 
> And that thing was Josh.

Josh had one of those sleeps that quite simply, wasn’t a sleep. He zoned in and out of being aware that he was awake but he never fully fell asleep, and he imagined that Tyler was the same.

At some point they shifted positions so that they were sitting up on the bed and leaning their backs against the cold concrete wall. Tyler was leaning his head against Josh’s shoulder and Josh grasped Tyler’s hand in his. They sat in silence for quite some time, just listening to the other breathe.

They both jumped up when the door opened ajar and a platter of food slid in followed by two bottles of water. Josh hesitated, waiting for the door to slam shut again before walking over to pick the items up.

Some bread along with two apples were on the platter. Josh sighed, walking back over to the bed to resume his position beside Tyler, who was looking at the food wearily.

“At least it’s something,” Josh muttered, opening one of the water bottles.

Tyler opened his bottle as well, taking small sips. Josh handed him the apple.

Tyler shook his head.

“You gotta eat,” Josh said, looking at him softly.

“Can’t,” He said.

Josh put the apple back down. “Nervous?”

Tyler nodded, looking at his hands.

“You haven’t ate anything in over 24 hours, Ty,” Josh said, not wanting to push him but not wanting him to starve.

Josh ripped a small piece of the bread and handed it to him. Tyler slowly took it and began nibbling on it. Josh felt a little better.

Josh could tell that Tyler wasn’t up to talking, so they ate in silence. Josh was trying to think of something, anything, to say, but he came up short. He didn’t think words could make this situation any better.

“Ty, can I ask you something?” He looked at Tyler.

Tyler looked back, nodding.

“Would it be so bad if you showed them Blurry?” He asked. “I mean, if you brought Blurry out, maybe you could use him to escape-”

“No, it doesn’t work like that,” Tyler said. He sighed. “There was a time before, back when I didn’t know they were giving me the Blurryface serum. I got really, really angry. I thought it was just me going insane, but I know now it was the serum coming into effect. But I started losing it, and I knew I was about to lose it completely, but then I was knocked out.”

Oh. Josh felt the slight flicker of hope in him go away. 

“I think that the wires they hook me up with have the capability of knocking me out if things get out of control. Believe me, I thought about it yesterday.” Tyler looked down at his hands, sadness written all over his face.

Josh didn’t know what to say. He knew Tyler was nervous about holding onto his brain today, of not letting Blurry out, but he didn’t want him to have the pressure of thinking that he HAD to hold on.

He settled on saying something simple.

“Your brain is your brain,” He started, Tyler looked up at him .”You can control it. I know you can. But… but if you really, really can’t hold on, don’t blame yourself, okay? Whatever happens happens.”

Tyler stared at him for a moment before lunging forward and hugging him. Josh hugged him back, holding him and rubbing his hand up and down Tyler’s back. After a few minutes, Josh realized that Tyler wasn’t pulling away any time soon, so he brought his hand up and rested it on the back of Tyler’s head, holding him comfortably.

They were once again brought from their moment of peace by the door opening. Josh kept his arm around Tyler as he jumped up and looked at their visitor.

“Aw, how cute,” Jones was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. “Up and at em’ kids, we got a big day ahead of us.”

Just like yesterday a few men were piling into the room, grabbing Josh and Tyler and handcuffing their arms behind them. Josh didn’t struggle this time, not seeing a point.

They were led down the hall, but this time they entered a different room.

 _God, Josh thought. This is literally a torture lab._

It was a similar setup to the room from yesterday, with the computers and the glass separating the spaces. Except this time, there was a normal looking chair on the other side of the glass, not a dentist chair.

Tyler was brought over to it, as Josh stood shaking on the other side of the glass. He felt the nauseous feeling come back to him, feeling more and more helpless. 

He watched as Tyler was strapped down to it and the metal collar removed from his neck. There was no black yet, as Tyler had his eyes squeezed shut and his hands in fists, concentrating. The wires were connected to his head again, and then the people left his side, coming over to the other side of the glass and pressing a few buttons so that they were “safe” on Josh’s side.

They were still setting up the computers, talking amongst themselves like this was a regular work day. Josh hated every single one of them.

That’s when Karen and the white haired man from yesterday entered the room.  


Karen ignored Josh, choosing to walk over to the people at the computers instead. That’s when Josh caught the white haired mans eyes.

He smiled at him, walking over.

“I believe we didn’t get a chance to speak yesterday,” He was about to hold out his hand, but then noticed Josh’s cuffed hands. He smiled again, lowing his hand. “I’m Doctor Ferguson.”

Josh just stared at him. Doctor, this guy calls himself a doctor. Josh almost laughed.

“I understand this is hard,” Ferguson told him. “But this could be a massive breakthrough in history. You can at least understand that.”

“No,” Josh looked him dead in the eye. “I can’t understand that.”

Ferguson just smiled at him. “Pity.”

He walked away, moving to stand over by Karen.

Josh nervously looked back at Tyler, who was still squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Alright, ready to begin.” One of the women working at the computers said.

Josh watched as Tyler began writhing. That’s when Josh realized…

They were electrocuting him.

Tyler writhed, groaning, trying to hold in a scream, but eventually he opened his mouth and began screaming. Josh flinched, waiting for the wind to start, but it didn’t. The black wasn’t appearing, and Tyler’s eyes were still squeezed shut. These were screams of pain, not screams of Blurry. He was holding it in. 

If Josh had it in him to smile, he would. But he couldn’t. This was still incredibly painful to watch.

And Karen looked pissed. Ferguson kept looking at her, occasionally muttering something to her. She would just wave him away, biting her nails or running a hand through her hair. Josh wanted to enjoy her anger, but he knew it was only going to lead to something worse. He just wanted to get out of here.

They eventually turned the torture off, and Tyler went still, breathing heavy. He opened up his eyes and stared at the ceiling, wincing but looking slightly relieved.

Karen was pacing back and forth, looking disheveled and incredibly annoyed. Then she stopped, looking at Josh. A small smile formed on her face, and then she was yelling at one of the computer people to open the glass door. 

She charged inside.

Josh didn’t like this.

She went up to Tyler and grabbed him by his hair, forcing him to look at her.

“What is wrong with you?!” She gritted her teeth. “You can’t do this one thing for me? You spend weeks practicing these powers and yet you sit here and hold them in, making me look like a fool?!”

Tyler looked taken aback.

“You are a worthless, good-for-nothing kid that was NOTHING before you received these powers-” 

“STOP!” Josh yelled.

The man behind him yanked his cuffs.

Karen punched Tyler in the stomach. Tyler yelped, trying to protect himself but the restraints and Karen’s grip on his hair not letting him.

“You should be thanking us for giving you this gift!” She yelled, bringing her fist back and punching him in the face.

“PLEASE, STOP!” Josh yelled, struggling against the man’s grip on him.

The saddest part was that this was Tyler’s childhood. This wasn’t new. Josh thought they had escaped Karen’s wrath many years ago, but here they were. Again.

“I watched you grow up, you weren’t amounting to anything, Tyler, nothing!” Another punch to his stomach. “Now you have these incredible abilities, abilities that we just want to study, and you have the nerve to be this ungrateful?!” Another punch to the face.

He now had blood running down his nose and his eye was starting to be swollen shut. Josh felt everything around him disappear as he struggled to get out the man’s grip, the only thing on his mind was to get to Tyler, to help him, to protect him. 

But he couldn’t.

Ferguson was watching this entire interaction with a disinterested look on his face, like he was watching a TV show that he didn’t care about. 

Karen finally stepped away from Tyler, glaring at him with insane hatred.

Tyler brought his gaze up to look at Josh. Josh couldn’t understand it, but he just knew that in this moment, Tyler was looking for his anchor. The thing that kept him grounded, the thing that kept him from bringing Blurry out.

And that thing was Josh.

So Josh stared back, trying to say a million things in just one gaze.

Josh could see Tyler let out a shaky breath.

They broke their gaze when Karen was huffing and stomping out of the room.

That’s when Josh noticed Ferguson staring at him. He looked at Josh, and then at Tyler, and then back at Josh.

“I tried,” Karen said, walking up to Ferguson.

Ferguson didn’t look at her, he just kept staring at Josh. His piercing eyes drilling holes in him.

“It’s no bother,” He said, smiling. “I have another idea. Take Tyler and Josh back to their room.”

“What?!” Karen yelled, looking at him with anger in her eyes. “There’s still loads more to be done, we have other ways-”

“Bring them back to their room,” He said again, finally breaking his gaze from Josh and looking at her. “Call a meeting.” And then he was walking out of the room.

Josh watched as they hauled Tyler up and handcuffed him, before leading him and Josh back to their room.

They were once again thrown back inside with the handcuffs taken off and the door slamming behind them.

Tyler collapsed onto the floor.

Josh rushed over to him, kneeling beside him and using his sleeve to dab at the blood on his face. Tyler just stared into his eyes, a small smile on his face. His lip started bleeding, breaking open.

Josh dabbed at his lip. “I’m proud of you.”

“She thought she could get to me,” Tyler muttered. “She thought she could break me and get Blurry out. She always got to me. This time I could show her that she couldn’t do that anymore, you know? For once I could stand up, well, metaphorically, and say no. You don’t get to do that anymore.”

Josh smiled slightly. “You did good, Ty.”

They sat there for a bit, Josh taking care of the blood as they sat in silence. They once again didn’t have words, both just enjoying being alone.

Josh thought for a moment that he might have some intuitive abilities, because he couldn’t explain it, he just knew that something terrible was about to happen. Maybe it was the way Ferguson was looking at him before. Maybe it was the way that his piercing eyes seemed to gaze into his soul, knowing everything that was hidden there.

Maybe it was the way he called a meeting far too early in the day. Maybe it was all of these things, because Josh had a sickening feeling that something was very, very wrong.

And he was right.

Josh and Tyler both jumped to their feet when the door was swinging open. 

Jones was standing there, grinning like an idiot.

“I was chosen to be the lucky one to come give you guys this piece of news, because, well, I have the least problem doing it,” He laughed.

He cleared his throat.

“It has come to our attention that there is one factor that is stopping Tyler from showing us Blurry, and that factor is you Josh.” Jones said.

Oh no.

Josh already knew where this was going.

“So, we have all collectively agreed that the only way for us to move forward with our studies is-”

“No…” Tyler muttered from beside Josh.

“-to eliminate Josh from the equation and-”

“No.” Tyler said again.

“-with that being said, we’re going to give you both a few hours together before we pull the plug. So Josh, enjoy your last few hours yadadada, consider this us being nice.” 

And with that, Jones left the room.

Josh felt like he was floating. None of this felt real. This had to be some kind of sick, horrible dream. He was going to wake up and be back in his and Tyler’s apartment, and he would pull Tyler close and kiss his head and go make a cup of tea while sitting on the couch and enjoying a stress-free day with the love of his life. That had to be reality, right? 

But it wasn’t. This was his reality.

“They’re going to kill me.” Josh said, still staring at the door.

He felt numb. This didn’t feel real. When he had envisioned dying, it had been on a bed in a hospital or at home surrounded by the people he loves. Not in some random torture lab in the middle of nowhere, leaving behind the one person he cared about more than anything in his life.

No.

This couldn’t be real.

“No…” Tyler was saying. “No no no.”

“Ty-”

“No.”

For the first time since Jones came in the room, Josh looked at Tyler and-

Oh no.

His neck and hands were black.

His eyes were red.

And the metal collar was gone.

Oh, yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blurry???? is that you?????
> 
> i had to end the chapter here okay, i just did
> 
> i seriously can't thank you all enough for reading this story, i never envisioned it getting this much attention. sometimes i don't know what to reply to your comments bc i literally just sit there staring at my screen with my mouth wide open that you all actually CARE about this story. like....... WOW. people are reading mY WORDS. that i wrote. iT'S NUTS TO ME OK
> 
> so thank you again, i love you all
> 
> happy reading :)


	14. guns for hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No one touches you Josh, no one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me, but for the love of God don't touch him."

Josh’s hair was whipping across his face, his eyes watering from the force of it as he took a step back from Tyler, whose strength was increasing by the second.

“Uh, hey Tyler, how much control do you have at the moment?” He asked.

Tyler was standing there as the wind continued to pick up and the obvious anger on his face grew, but he still looked like himself. Despite the black on his neck and hands, oh, and the red eyes, of course.

“I’ve got Blurry’s voice under control, and now I want to go give these bastards what they’re asking for.” He said, taking a step towards the door.

“Are you sure we don’t want to just try to find a way out of here-” Josh began.

“NO,” Tyler yelled, turning to look at Josh. “No one touches you Josh, no one.”

And then he was storming towards the door.

Josh’s heart was pounding both from adrenaline and adoration for Tyler. 

Tyler had been picked apart bit by bit by these murderous people, but the second they talk about laying a finger on Josh, Tyler loses it. 

Like, really loses it.

Literally.

Josh followed a distance behind Tyler as they quite literally stormed down the hallway, Tyler’s hands clenched into tight fists.

Tyler was throwing open doors looking for either Ferguson or Karen. A few rooms had other people in it who had most likely had a hand in Tyler’s torture, but Tyler didn’t seem interested in them. No, he was looking for the creators of this whole organization, the people who made this happen.

They reached the room at the end of the hallway, the one that resembled a cafeteria that they had met Karen in on the first day as she told them everything.

Tyler swung the door open with force, breaking it from it’s hinges. Josh jumped back, eyes wide but continuing to follow Tyler inside.

Karen, Ferguson, Jones and a few other people were sat around one of the tables engaged in an “important” conversation, but the minute they spotted Tyler they were on their feet.

“Tyler-” Karen started, her hand grasping her heart as she stared at him wide eyed.

The other people in the room charged towards him, including Jones, but Tyler brought one hand up and used the wind to throw them across the room. They landed with thuds on the ground, knocked out.

Karen gasped, and when Josh looked at her, she was smiling.

“Amazing!” Ferguson exclaimed, staring at Tyler with excited eyes despite the fact that he just threw his co workers across the room.

What a bunch of psychopaths, Josh thought.

Ferguson took a step towards them, and Tyler looked ready to throw him across the room as well. Tyler’s face was the angriest Josh had ever seen him, his eyes the reddest of red. But despite all of this, Tyler had control. He was incredibly, and impossibly powerful.

“Tyler, don’t you see how incredible this is?” Ferguson said, keeping his distance. “This is impossible! Yet, here you are!”

“Shut up,” Tyler brought his hand up.

“Wait, listen to me!” Ferguson brought his hands up as if he could stop Tyler’s blow.

Tyler however, stopped.

“This is a magnificent shift in science Tyler, the things we have discovered… they’re out of this world! We have the information now to use this on others, to create a group of people that could-”

“No…” Tyler muttered.

“It’s not a bad thing! Your powers, they are extraordinary. You have to agree. The things you can do now, the power you have… you can’t tell me you aren’t enjoying it, even just a little.”

Tyler stared at him, and Josh felt the wind calming a bit. Josh looked back and forth between Ferguson and Tyler, the tension in the room not quite like anything Josh had ever experienced.

“See?” Ferguson broke the silence. “You do. It’s okay Tyler, it’s okay to admit it.”

Tyler’s eyes looked sad.

Josh suddenly thought back to what the past three years in Ferguson’s presence must have felt like. This man had the look of someone who could be both a calming presence to be around, and a terrifying one. Josh thought about Tyler, in his vulnerable state, being manipulated by this man. This man, who could hurt him but also reassure him. Who could torture him but also be someone to talk to. 

Ferguson was the epitome of an emotional manipulator.

And Josh wasn’t about to let him win again.

“Tyler…” Josh said quietly from behind him.

Tyler didn’t look at him, but he knew that he was listening.

“The kids,” Josh said softly. “Think of them. Erik, Kenny, Ted and Anthony.”

Tyler was staring at the ground, and his face changed with each name that Josh said. He went from sad to angry once again. 

The wind began to pick up as Tyler lifted his head to stare at Ferguson again.

Ferguson looked at Josh. “We should have killed you earlier.”

Oops.

Wrong thing to say.

Tyler charged forward, the anger so strong in the room that Josh could physically feel it.

Tyler grabbed Ferguson by the neck, squeezing his hands around his throat. Karen stood over at the side, looking like she wanted to intervene but too scared to actually do so.

“Don’t you dare speak to him, don’t you dare even look at him!” Tyler yelled as Ferguson gasped, trying to get out of Tyler’s grip but making zero progress. 

“Why?!” Tyler yelled. “THEY WERE KIDS!” 

He loosened his grip a bit, allowing Ferguson to speak.

“It’s for science, Tyler!” He yelled back weakly. “Their sacrifice is worth it in the long run if we-”

“BUT THEY DIDN’T CHOOSE IT!” Tyler yelled back. “None of us did! You killed them, you ended their lives for NOTHING!”

“It wasn’t for nothing-”

“YES IT WAS!” Tyler screamed, the anger dripping from each word. Josh’s heart was pounding, he could physically and emotionally feel every word Tyler was screaming. 

Josh was suddenly brought back to every moment with Tyler since his return. Every tear, every nightmare, every sad, sad expression… it was all coming out in this moment. This moment, when Tyler finally gets to let out every emotion to the man who manipulated him for years.

“They’re dead, they are GONE,” Tyler yelled, sadness peaking through the anger. “They spent the last few years of their lives as if they were experimental rats, all because you tore them from their homes for some stupid science experiment that is for your own selfish needs, and it’s DISGUSTING!”

“Tyler-”

“NO, YOU DON’T GET TO SPEAK ANYMORE!” Tyler tightened his hands around Ferguson’s throat again, cutting off his speech. “I may have these powers for life, but I will be damned if I don’t spend the rest of it using them for the complete opposite of what you intended them for, if I even use them at all.

“You took three years of my life from me, but there is no way you are taking the rest of it, let alone Josh’s. You took Erik, Kenny, Ted, Anthony, but there is no way in hell you are taking Josh from me.”

Josh suddenly realized that was another reason that Tyler got so sensitive when it came to Josh being killed. He had watched those other kids be killed, he wouldn’t let the same happen to Josh.

Josh also thought back to that beautiful night where they had danced at Brendon’s house, and Tyler had told him that he had believed Josh to be dead during his time here. Josh’s heart ached.

And with that, Tyler began squeezing.

Except Karen suddenly decided that this was her moment to return to the narrative.

She was charging towards Tyler with a taser in hand.

“TYLER LOOK OUT!” Josh screamed, running forward to try and stop her.

Tyler was almost quick enough, but Karen shoved the taser into Tyler’s side with a great amount of force.

Josh ran forward and tackled Karen to the ground. They both hit the ground with a large thud, and Josh scrambled up to get a look at Tyler…

Who was standing there, looking even stronger.

The electricity was mixed up in the wind now, the two crackling together around Tyler. Tyler looked at the power around him with awe, also surprised at this new ability.

“Oh my…” Karen brought a hand up to her mouth. Josh couldn’t tell if she was fearful or in awe.

Most likely both.

The lights in the room were flickering, and then they were turning off completely.

“Tyler?” Josh said into the darkness, he heard Karen standing up beside him. He grabbed onto her ankle, pulling her back down.

The lights came on again, and Josh saw Tyler moving his hands, trying to get a hang of his new found power.

That’s when Josh noticed that Ferguson was no longer on the ground. He looked up just in time to see him sprinting out of the room.

“Tyler, Ferguson’s leaving!” Josh yelled, getting up to run after him.

Tyler and Josh sprinted after him, and Josh only had a moment to realize that Karen was following after them. But she wouldn’t dare touch them again, not with the watts of electricity radiating off of Tyler.

They ran down the hallway, looking for him in every room. They came up short.

“I think I know where he is…” Karen suddenly said from behind them. “Follow me.”

Josh wanted to laugh. “You think we’re going to trust you?”

“If he’s going to do what I think he’s going to do, then yes.” She said, turning around and running in the opposite direction.

Josh looked at Tyler, silently questioning what they should do. Tyler just shrugged, running after Karen. Josh hoped they weren’t making the wrong decision, but then again, Tyler was too powerful to touch.

Karen was opening up a tiny door that was barely visible, to reveal a staircase. She ran up them. Tyler followed, so Josh nervously did as well.

Sure enough, they found Ferguson.

The room was surrounded by a bunch of tech-y stuff that Mark would have a field day in, with screens that showed every room in the building. Josh could see that most rooms were empty right now, besides the few people on computers, working away at who knows what.

Except Ferguson was holding a detonator in his hand, a crazed expression on his face.

“Ferguson…” Karen took a step back.

“No one move. It’s over.” Ferguson said, voice void of any expression.

Josh’s heart picked up, realizing the reality of the situation.

Ferguson was going to blow the place up.

He was too far away from them, by the time they got to him he will have pressed the button. They couldn’t do anything.

Josh swung his head around to look at Tyler, who was standing right beside him, looking at Ferguson in shock. The wind around him was slowing down, the crackling from the electricity gone. His neck and hands were still black, and his eyes were still red, but they were duller than before. 

“But… but all of our work-” Karen stuttered.

“We talked about this Karen,” Ferguson looked at her. “If things ever got out of control, and we knew we couldn’t stop it, we end it. We give our everything to this project, that was the plan from the beginning.”

Karen just stared at him, her expression turning calm.

“You’re right.” She said.

“What?!” Josh questioned. “All of your work will be gone…” 

Josh didn’t have a problem with that, but, he also didn’t want to be blown up. He had to talk him down.

“Will it?” Ferguson smirked.

“Well if you blow it up, yeah…” Tyler spoke up, fear evident in his voice.

Ferguson chuckled. “Ours will, maybe, but did you really think this was the only other organization like this one?”

Josh and Tyler said nothing, the shock hitting them both at once.

Another organization? Just like this one? No…

Ferguson laughed a crazed laugh. “A few years ago I made the decision to give my life to this project. Karen and I both did. We messed up. We made a human too powerful who is not going to cooperate with us, so we must end it before it gets out of control. Simple as that. The other organization will understand, surely.”

Josh's brain was panicking. If they died here, that other organization would get away with everything. They wouldn't be stopped. All of this would be for nothing.

Josh felt a hand slip into his, and he whipped his head around to see Tyler looking at him, fear in his eyes but also a calm expression. Josh stared back, squeezing his hand.

Karen walked over to Ferguson, looking at peace. She placed a hand on Ferguson’s shoulder, smiling.

Josh looked back at Tyler, not wanting to look away from him. They stared into each other's eyes. 

Tyler was fully facing him now, wrapping his other free hand in Josh’s other free hand. 

Josh had so much more of the world that he wanted to experience with Tyler. He was suddenly thinking of everything that he would do with him if they were to have more time. They would travel, yes, travelling was a must considering they both had never left Ohio. Long walks at night were another must. That new burger joint that opened up across the street was something Josh wanted to try. They would visit Eli more as well, she had done so much for them when Tyler first came back. They would hang out with Brendon and Ryan, maybe do a few cheesy double dates. Oh, and Mark. Mark could tag along. But they also needed to try some more video games with him because he loved them so much.

Josh was then thinking about everything he had experienced with Tyler. He stared into Tyler’s eyes, memorizing each speck. He could see all of their happy memories flash through there. The first time they had met when they were both tiny children. The first time Tyler played piano and sang while Josh played drums. The first time they kissed, and Josh realized that the world was actually a pretty great place. He thought about every single moment they had together leading up to Tyler’s capture.

And then he felt panicked.

He didn’t want Tyler to die here. Here, in the place that had the worst of Tyler’s demons in every single room, every single hallway, every single crack and dot on the walls. Tyler didn’t deserve this. He really, really didn’t.

Tyler smiled at him, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the lips. Josh’s eyes filled with tears.

“I love you.”

“I love you, so so much.”

And then Ferguson was pressing the button.

And Tyler was screaming. 

And they were falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END! thanks for reading :)
> 
> NO I'M TOTALLY KIDDING, i'm sorry that was mean
> 
> so we have about one or two chapters left kids, followed by some possible one shots
> 
> ALSO I HAD A REALIZATION, the quote that i put at the begging notes (it's a big meme on tumblr) is so damn relevant to tyler and josh in this story that i started crying thinking about it. tyler will let everyone tear him down but the second anyone talks about hurting josh, tyler goes nuts. and in a weird way, it's the same with josh. josh CAN'T STAND anyone hurting tyler.
> 
> anyways i hope you enjoy this chapter
> 
> happy reading :)


	15. time to say goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, in the wake of disaster, it’s important to remember that there are good people in this world.

Here’s the thing. When Josh Dun envisioned dying, he envisioned opening his eyes to bright, calm lights and the freedom of easy breath. He envisioned comfort, and warmth, and… well, the freedom to move around as he pleased.

But here’s the thing. Josh Dun wasn’t dead.

It took him a moment to realize this.

The first thing he was aware of was Tyler sprawled over top of him, screaming his head off, his neck jet black. His forearms were resting beside either side of Josh’s head, his black hands practically gripping the ground. Josh’s legs were sprawled out, and Tyler’s knees were in between them as he pressed his chest against Josh’s. 

The next thing Josh became aware of was the overwhelming wind that was radiating out from Tyler, surrounding the two of the them and creating an almost cocoon of protection. Apart from Tyler above him, the world around him looked warped. It was blurry, as if the power coming from Tyler was now a physical substance that was pushing the deadly explosion away from the two of them.

And Tyler kept screaming. Josh felt drunk, as if what was happening right now wasn’t really happening. His head felt heavy, his body feeling 400 pounds as his back sprawled into the earth. He widened his eyes, realizing that he was all in his head. The cocoon of protection that Tyler was creating around them was safe on the inside. He wasn’t in pain, in fact, he felt perfectly fine. 

Making sure he could move, he lifted his hand up and brought it to Tyler screaming face. He stroked his cheek, and that’s when Tyler’s eyes swung open. They were a crimson red. They widened even more, and then his scream cut off.

Tyler’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and then his weight gave out. He fell on top of Josh.

Josh only had a brief moment to realize that the wind, along with the powerful protective energy cut off. Josh whipped his head around, realizing that they were on the ground, and the building that they were once in ceased to exist. Debris was everywhere, along with patches of fire. The ground around Tyler and Josh was completely dead, a circle surrounding them from where the wind once was, similar to the time Tyler screamed in the forest. Josh panicked, not wanting to get caught in the fire around them.

He sat up, and suddenly his body was moving automatically. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he pushed the panic aside and focused solely on getting Tyler and himself to safety. He picked up Tyler’s passed out body and, after briefly making sure he was breathing, carried him bridal style.

He ran.

The area around them was a complete and utter disaster. He was aware that it was difficult to breathe as the smoky air around them made it hard to get in a proper breath, let alone see. 

He didn’t know how long he ran, only that it was awhile. He ran until the air was clearer, and there was no fire, and he was a great distance away from the remains of the building that almost murdered him. 

As soon as he felt safe, he dropped to his knees and gently laid Tyler down. He kneeled over, coughing up a lung. He sounded like an asthmatic as he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on taking in a proper breath.

He rubbed his eyes and then turned his attention back to Tyler.

He ran a hand through Tyler’s hair, leaning over him and staring at his face. He had ash on his face, and Josh imagined he did as well.

“Tyler?” He spoke, continuing to run a hand through his hair. “Please, wake up.”

Nothing.

Josh put his ear to Tyler’s chest, and sure enough he was breathing. Josh breathed a sigh of relief, but he needed Tyler to wake up. He needed him.

“Please,” He choked, tears forming in his eyes. “Please, I- I can’t do this alone.”

Still nothing.

Josh let out a sob, the events of today catching up to him. “Tyler, please, please wake up. I need you, please. I don’t know what to do.”

He waited, and then Tyler was slowly opening his eyes. They were brown.

Josh let out a sob mixed in with his gasp. “Tyler...” He couldn’t say anything else.

“Josh?” Tyler said weakly, looking up at him.

And then Josh was wrapping him in his arms and holding him close to him as he full out sobbed. Shortly after Tyler was wrapping his weak arms around Josh and hugging him back, crying silently. 

The reality was coming down and hitting them both like a trainwreck. They almost died. Many times. But they didn’t. An entire building just exploded with the sole intention of killing them, but they had survived.

“H-how?” Was all Josh could get out, pulling away to look at Tyler.

Tyler wiped the tears from his cheeks, sniffling. He shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s hard to explain,” He coughed out, his voice absolutely shot from all of the screaming. “Remember when I found out that the serum was named Blurryface?”

Josh nodded. “Yeah.”

“It was kind of like that,” He went on. “It was almost like… Blurryface didn’t want to die either, so I just suddenly knew exactly what to do, exactly how to save us. It was like a whisper commanding me what to do.”

Josh just stared at him. Nothing surprised him anymore. They had cheated death over and over, and now they were here.

“God, what now Josh?” Tyler asked, looking up at him.

“I don’t-”

They were interrupted by the sounds of sirens. Josh and Tyler looked around, and Josh finally took in his surroundings.

They were a distance away from the wreckage of the building, and they were in a pretty open field beside a rugged road. It was the middle of the day. The place was a wasteland, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. But from afar they could faintly see about six or seven black SUV’s with sirens flashing making there way down the road.

“Is that…” Tyler began.

“It looks like the FBI.” Josh finished.

Tyler brought a hand up to his mouth, looking overwhelmed. 

“Josh w-we’re… we’re gonna go home...”

“I think we are Ty, I think we are.”

It may sound cheesy, but this next part of Josh’s life really was a complete and utter blur. A blur of emotions, of events all mixed into one. 

He remembered the look on the FBI’S faces as being quite possibly the best thing Josh had ever witnessed. They ran out of their vehicles and began inspecting the damage of the explosion, until one of the agents noticed Tyler and Josh walking towards them from the distance. The agent’s eyes went really wide, and it was the first time Josh had ever seen an FBI agent look speechless. Soon after the others were noticing as well, and then three paramedics along with a few agents were sprinting over to them, wrapping their arms around them and pulling them over to the back of one of the ambulances.

Josh remembered refusing to be separated from Tyler, and the others seemed to understand.

Josh recognized one of the agents as Agent JJ, the one who had questioned Tyler way back when. She looked genuinely happy to see them, and Josh was honestly genuinely happy to see anyone that wasn’t a crazy psychotic experimental “doctor”. Josh could tell she, along with the other agents, had a billion questions, but they could also tell that Josh and Tyler were in no state to answer them at the moment.

Josh was holding it together, until a familiar man with dirty blonde hair and large bags under his eyes was hopping out of one of the SUV’s and running towards them. 

“Mark…” Tyler muttered from beside him, standing up and running over to engulf Mark in a giant hug.

Josh ran forward as well, and then the three just stood there hugging and crying and having so much to say but not knowing how to say any of it.

“When we first pulled up I could only see the wreckage, I thought you guys were dead…” Mark gasped, hugging them tighter.

“I didn’t see you guys leave I- I swear you just vanished…” Mark said after they pulled away.

Josh quickly realized he was talking about the day they had snuck into Karen’s house.

“Mark it’s ok-” Josh began.

“I sat there for so long, trying to get a hold of you but-but there was no answer and so I was FREAKING OUT and-”

“You don’t need to explain-”

“So I fucking risked my life and went inside and you guys were just GONE, and I lost it even more-”

“Mark…”

“So I HAD to call the cops, and they showed up and I had to tell them everything,” He started whispering. “Besides like… you know, the parts about my hacking and Blurryface…”

“Seriously Mark, we understand-

“Wait this part is important!” Mark’s eyes widened. “They found all of Karen’s files inside, detailing everything about Triple Ø, including this location so that’s how we knew where to find you, but they were also able to uncover another separate organization.”

Josh’s heart stopped. He had almost forgotten about that.

“Thankfully there was only one other location, and it’s located somewhere in Canada. Anyways, they have agents over there right now going to shut it down.” Mark finished, breathing heavy.

Tyler was looking at Josh, not quite smiling but his eyes happy.

It was over.

It was really, really over.

He heard Ferguson’s voice in his head, saw his smirk right in front of him telling him that there is another organization, and that this information would die with them. He thought about the sheer panic that these horrible, horrible people were actually going to get away with what they’ve done, and the terror that came with being minutes away from dying.

Yet here he stood.

Alive.

Josh was suddenly turning and wrapping Tyler in his arms, and a laugh escaped him. The noise almost felt wrong coming from his lips considering he’d spent the last couple of days in hell, but none the less he felt the biggest of smiles spread of his face. He pulled away from Tyler and planted a kiss on his dry lips, and Tyler smiled into it.

“We’re alive,” Josh smiled.

“Yes,” Tyler smiled back. “We are.”

-

Tyler and Josh were brought to the hospital shortly after, and they soon found out that the place they were being held in was about an hour away from home. It was in a pretty vacant area, the building having been disguised on the outside as being haunted and abandoned so no one went near it. 

They were given some oxygen at the hospital, and Josh hadn’t realized how much he needed it until he got it, the adrenaline soon coming down. He stayed near Tyler the entire time, not letting him out of their sight. They both got a chance to shower and change into some clean clothes, to which Josh was incredibly grateful for.

Tyler agreed that it was finally time to come clean about Blurryface, knowing that he would have to considering the FBI had all of Karen’s documents, plus they were shutting the other organization down. 

They were brought to the police station that they were in when Tyler first was found shortly after their hospital visit. Mark was with them, claiming that he had spent most of his time here the past couple of days since Tyler and Josh went missing.

"The location was in some weird code in Karen's files," Mark said was saying as they waiting on chairs outside of one of the police offices. "That's why it took us so long to get to you."

Josh was about to reply to him, when Tyler blurted out.

“They’re going to send me to some lab to be experimented on, I just know it.” Tyler said, nervousness dripping in his voice. 

“We won’t let them,” Mark said, fiddling with his thumbs.

“I don’t think you guys have that kind of power,” Tyler said, looking nervous.

Josh grabbed Tyler’s hand, a show of comfort. “We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Tyler leaned his head on Josh’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “Whatever you say, optimistic man.”

Josh smiled as Tyler drifted off to sleep. He sighed, feeling a little nervous himself.

“How are you holding up man?” Mark asked him. Tyler was sat in the middle of the two, so Mark leaned his arms on his knees to look at Josh.

Josh shrugged. “I just want to get him home.”

Mark smirked. “Yes but, how are _you_ doing? Emotionally, I mean.”

Josh didn’t really know. They had been missing for only two and half days, but it felt like a lifetime. Apart of him was also aware that while he endured two days of that, Tyler endured three years of it. He felt like he was in a haze, and that it would catch up to him later.

“I’m holding up,” He smiled at Mark.

Mark didn’t look convinced, but he dropped it none the less.

They sat in silence after that. Josh glanced down at Tyler’s face, taking in the peaceful look of it. He wanted him to always have that calm, no-worries expression. 

Josh looked up and saw Agent JJ over at one of the desks, staring at the two of them. She had a sad expression on her face, as if she truly did feel for Tyler and Josh. She caught Josh’s eyes, giving him a sad smile. He smiled back.

Sometimes, in the wake of disaster, it’s important to remember that there are good people in this world.

She was walking over to them after that, and after Josh nudged Tyler awake they were led into an office, Mark included.

Josh recognized it as the exact same office from when this all started and Tyler revealed what happened to him during those three years. Who knew that they would be right back to where it all started. It felt sort of symbolic.

They sat down, Tyler once again in the middle of the couch with Josh and Mark on either side of him. JJ sat across from them.

“Well boys, I would say it’s good to see you again but- honestly I wish that the circumstances were different.” She smiled sadly.

They all nodded.

“After studying the files that we’ve uncovered on Triple Ø, as well as the organization in Canada, I thought I would inform you that I’m caught up to date on, well, on Blurryface.” She said, looking at them and waiting for a reaction.

Tyler just stared at the table in front of him. Josh had figured she would be, considering she had all of the files.

“I wanted to give you some good news,” She went on. “The organization in Canada has been completely shut down and everyone involved was arrested.”

Josh breathed out a sigh of relief. Mark smiled, and Tyler just kept staring at the table. Apathetic once again.

“In fact, if we hadn’t have found the files in Karen’s apartment right in the moment we did, many more people would have been injected with the Blurryface serum.”

Josh’s eyes widened. “What?”

JJ sighed. “It would seem that the location in Canada was ready to start injecting the success serum into it’s, uh, “patients” there. A few days later and they would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for you.”

Tyler looked up at that. Josh saw a flicker of relief on his face.

“Now,” She sat back. “I know it’s difficult, but we really need to know the entire story. From Tyler’s powers, to your time at Triple Ø. I know that it won’t be easy, but we need all of the information.”

Tyler looked at Josh. They had agreed that it was Josh's turn to do the explaining. Josh smiled slightly at him, and then he was opening his mouth.

He started with how Tyler wasn’t 100% sure if he was injected with anything during his three years being held captive, just because he didn’t want Tyler being accused of lying to the feds. He then went on to say how Tyler was slowly showing signs of something not being quite right, and then to his explosion in the forest. He quickly talked about Karen and her being at the graveyard, adding in how she had abused Tyler his whole life. JJ looked shocked at that. He brought Mark into the equation slowly, only leaving out the parts about him hacking and instead choosing to say that Mark was a good friend and they needed moral support. Which wasn't untrue.

He told her that Karen was watching them in the forest, and that they were suspicious of how she kept popping up into their lives. He cringed when he had to tell JJ that they went into Karen's house and looked through her files, but she didn’t seem shocked by that, most likely because she had already received that part of the story from Mark.

Telling her the next part was hard. Mark looked extra interested as well because this was stuff that it was his first time hearing. Josh got really quiet when he filled her in on the parts about Tyler’s torture, but he made sure to not leave any details out on Triple Ø and how the whole organization came about with Ferguson. 

He cut himself off at one point, finding it hard to continue. JJ stayed patient.

Tyler grabbed Josh’s hand and squeezed, showing comfort. Josh exhaled a shaky breath and squeezed back.

He continued on with how they were told that Josh was going to be killed because he was the only reason Tyler wasn’t showing Blurry, and about how Tyler lost it. He then went on to say that Ferguson blew the place up, and the only reason Tyler and Josh are alive is because Tyler saved their lives.

When he was finished, the room was silent. JJ looked like her mind was reeling a thousand miles a minute. Eventually, she spoke.

“We found what is left of the serum in Canada,” She finally said, looking at them. “It’s been transported to a sterile containment center, to which the location I can’t disclose. It’s safe, and out of reach of everyone, that’s what matters.”

Josh shuddered, wondering what else would be in this “sterile containment center”.

“As for you, Tyler…” She began.

“Please don’t take me to a lab,” Tyler finally spoke, looking up at her. “I can’t do it.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you-”

“I-I can’t spend more time being experimented on, please, I really just want to go home and-”

“Hey, hey it’s okay, you’re not going to a lab,” She said, trying to calm him down.

Tyler gaped at her. “I’m not?”

She smiled. “Of course not. However, I am suggesting frequent checkups with a doctor who will be, uh, informed on your situation. And if things are to get out of hand, meaning you feel as if you aren’t in control of yourself, please come talk to someone just for extra measure.”

Josh furrowed his eyebrows. “So, just to be clear, no lab?”

“No lab,” She said. “As far as I’m concerned you’re very much in control of yourself Tyler, and the two of you have been through enough already. We aren’t just going to lock you up in a lab, that would be inhuman. As long as you stay in control, that’s all I need to know.”

Tyler stared at her. Josh stared at Tyler.

“I get to go home?” He asked, looking in disbelief.

She laughed, looking almost teary eyed. “Yes Tyler, you get to go home. For good, this time.”

-

“Alright so, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to go sleep for a very, very long time,” Mark said to them as they stood outside of their apartment. “Call me if you need anything, alright? And hey, I’m still waiting on that Mario Kart game that you promised me, Dun.”

Josh laughed. “Oh, I still plan to kick your ass.”

Mark was laughing as he went inside his apartment, and then he was shutting the door.

Tyler and Josh stood hand in hand as they stood outside of their room.

“You ready?” Josh asked, smiling.

Tyler nodded. “Ready.”

Josh opened their door.

Home.

They spent the first couple of minutes back just sort of walking around. Josh touched the walls, playfully kissing the ground as Tyler laughed at him. Tyler did the same, until he was abruptly walking into the bedroom. Josh followed.

Tyler was stripping down into just his boxers and climbing into bed. Josh smiled at him, before deciding to do the same.

“Bed at 10pm? You’ve gotten soft, Joseph.” Josh joked, pulling the covers over his body.

Tyler smiled at him, a real, genuine smile. “I think I could sleep for a lifetime.”

Josh pulled him close. “Well, we do have that time. Although I don’t think I want to spend it sleeping, I have a lot of plans with you.”

Tyler kissed him on the lips, entangling his legs with Josh’s before resting his head in the crook of Josh’s neck.

“I want to go to Australia,” Tyler said. “Or Hawaii.”

“How about both?” Josh asked.

“Both would be good,” Tyler replied, laughing.

“Okay, but, that new burger joint down the street…” Josh said.

“Oh of course,” Tyler chuckled. “That’s more important than Australia and Hawaii combined.”

Josh couldn’t get the grin off of his face. For a moment the two just lay there in silence, listening to the other breathing.

“We really have a lifetime together?” Tyler asked, snuggling closer to Josh.

“We do Tyler,” Josh said, believing it this time. “We do.”

END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, it's over, it's really over (apart from a very short epilogue)
> 
> i'm the biggest sucker for happy endings. spoiler alert: every story i write will most likely have a happy ending.
> 
> ALSO: the sterile containment centre thing i wrote in is another thing i got from a criminal minds episode. at the end of the episode called "amplification" they show this guy in a protective suit bringing this strain of anthrax into a containment centre, and then the camera zooms out to show HUNDREDS of other containment units. it's HELLA scary because it's like, well, alright, what else is the government hiding in there? so i imagine, if a blurryface serum were to exist in this world, they would put it in there.
> 
> ANYWAYS TIME FOR ME TO GET A LIL SAPPY
> 
> i just wanted to take a second to thank you all for reading this, which is such an overused saying that it kind of loses it's meaning but i do mean it, genuinely. with every single comment, kudos, hit, bookmark etc, my confidence in my writing grew and that's something that i'm insanely grateful for. i never imagined that this would receive so much attention, so the fact that so many of you read it and liked... wow, my mind is truly blown and my heart is truly happy. SO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN.
> 
> more stories are to come, a few possible one shots, and i hope you all will stick around and read them.
> 
> and as usual, happy reading :')


	16. the end.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> |Epilogue|

Josh Dun would like to make one final thing clear.

Things after that were pretty damn great, but it wasn’t perfect. However, from a broader standpoint of things, that’s how it should be.

Tyler didn’t go back to college, which some would think of as a bad thing, but it really wasn’t. He was ready to start living for himself, and college just wasn’t for him. And that’s okay, it’s not for everyone. It definitely wasn’t for Josh. Tyler focused on writing. Poems, mostly. It started as just something he did to get the negative energy out of his brain and onto paper. One thing led to the next, and he was soon publishing a book full of his poems. He touched kids everywhere who knew very well what it’s like to experience those kinds of thoughts, and Tyler became addicted to helping others.

Josh picked up his drum sticks again and got back on the saddle. He got a few gigs drumming with different bands, but it wasn’t until Tyler expressed interest in using his poems as song lyrics that he realized that he was meant to be on stage with him. The two were planning on starting some sort of band, but, who knows how that would work out?

There were nightmares. Lots of them. Some nights it was Tyler, others it was Josh. Sometimes Tyler needed to go out into the forest and let his emotions out, channeling Blurry just to make him shut up for a bit. Blurry made good use for Tyler’s song lyrics, but other than that Tyler kept him pushed away as best as he could. Josh had a new found terror of enclosed spaces, triggering a few panic attacks on the way, but he had Tyler to help him through it. 

Mark stayed close with them every step of the way. You don’t experience what those three experienced together and just grow apart. No, Mark was in this with them for life, and Josh and Tyler couldn’t be happier that that person was Mark.

And the rest is a lifetime away. Josh could sit here and explain in vivid detail what it was like to marry Tyler Joseph, to stand in front of everyone and vow to love him for eternity. He could sit here and tell you about their trip to Australia, and Hawaii, and the burger joint down the street. He could, but it was time for him to go. It was time for him to live.

So here’s one final thing.

Life isn’t perfect. Life is a series of ups and downs that, in the end, blur together into a long stream of life. It would be wrong to ignore the bad, to pretend that it didn’t exist, because to do so would be ignorant. Life has it’s bad moments. That’s just… well, that’s just living. 

That’s just being alive.

And as Josh stared down at Tyler’s peaceful face laying next to him at night, he realized one very important thing that made everything worth it. He realized that even through the bad, even through the torture and the panic attacks and the long sleepless nights, there is good in this world. There’s laughing so hard with Tyler that he physically can’t breathe. There’s seeing the sunrise in the morning, promising another day ahead. There’s morning coffee trips, cuddle sessions and long, passionate kisses.

There’s life.

And life is pretty damn beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to get this epilogue up quickly just so that i could OFFICIALLY put this thing to rest, plus i thought it would be nice to show you guys that tyler and josh truly do get their happy ending :)
> 
> once again, thank you all for reading. keep a look out on my page for that one shot coming soon, and eventually a whole new story all together.
> 
> happy reading :*
> 
> UPDATE: one shot up now! titled: where he was


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